Oct 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Torger Christian Toto Wolff Team Principal and CEO of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 walks through the track entrance before the 2024 Formula One US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Mercedes Boss Slams Team's Saudi GP Performance as 'Worst' of the Year

Originally posted on F1 on SI | By Nelson Espinal | Last updated Apr 22, 2025 1:00 PM ET

For the first time this season, Mercedes seemingly went backwards as the race weekend in Jeddah progressed, rather than going forward and closing the gap like they have for most of the season.

The W16 has been the second or third fastest car on the grid, displaying good top-end speed as well as consistent race pace.

Instead, George Russell started in P3 and ended up finishing in P5, while Kimi Antonelli moved from P5 to P6 in the race.

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“Clearly our worst performance so far from the year. The pace just dropped away with a blistering tyre and overheating tyres, and so far we haven’t got the explanations,” Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff said after the race.

“Today we saw [a gap] against Ferrari and Max [Verstappen] also."

"So that’s why that was an additional negative that when you kind of manage your expectations by being second quickest – and even that is not obviously what we would wish to achieve – and then you see this race coming, panning out like it did, it just adds to the frustration of the situation.”

Kimi shortly after the race. hopefully he gets some good rest and recovers well pic.twitter.com/wKtsqgAJQM
— did kimi score points in f1 today? (@kimipoints) April 20, 2025

The Ferrari SF-25 has lacked both qualifying speed and race pace for most of the season, though in Saudi Arabia, it showcased a true leap in race pace.

The gap at the top is seemingly narrowing with every race weekend that passes, which means this race should serve as a wake-up call to Mercedes that they will need to fight hard to even challenge for podiums this year.

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While the car is seemingly not heading in an ideal direction, the same cannot be said for Mercedes' rookie Kimi Antontelli, who has shown impressive racecraft so early in his racing career.

“I’m really happy the trajectory is right,” Wolff said.

“There haven’t been any kamikaze movement[s]. He’s been consistently learning over the weekends."

Mercedes doesn’t have ‘the explanation’ for Russell’s P5 finish

— George Russell started from third in Saudi Arabia and looked set for a podium, but tyre issues saw him drop back significantly, leaving Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff searching for answers.

“Clearly our worst… pic.twitter.com/Fs7Z4bqPbK
— This is Formula 1 (@ThisIsFormu1a1) April 21, 2025

“He’s been, interestingly, always very fast when it comes to the end of the weekend, and it seems he gets on top of the car, on top of how to drive the tyres. And it is 100% on target."

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“Miami, he doesn’t know Miami, but then from there on, I think we’re going to have a pretty clear picture how this more, let’s say, natural habitat of his, the racetracks he knows [in Europe], is going to impact the performance. But I’m happy.”

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This article first appeared on F1 on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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