Toto Wolff (Mercedes) warns: “We can’t afford that”

At the start of the season, it looked as though Mercedes had a huge lead and had all but secured both world championships (Drivers’ and Constructors’). Yet, race by race, it is becoming increasingly clear that the outlook for 2026 is not quite that straightforward. Mercedes may well have a strong package comprising chassis and engine – but it is also struggling with enormous reliability issues. George Russell retired whilst leading in Canada, and Kimi Antonelli suffered the same fate in Barcelona. That cost them points.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who also holds a stake in the team, said ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix: “The last few races have shown where our strengths lie and in which areas we still need to improve. We have a car with which we can compete at the front and score plenty of points. However, we haven’t been able to translate that potential into the best possible results.”

Mercedes is currently leading both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. Their 78-point lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship is solid. However, a look at the Drivers’ Championship makes it clear that Ferrari has successfully closed the gap. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) is just seven points behind Mercedes works driver George Russell.

Wolff: Pace is no use

The Austrian Wolff therefore warns: “Reliability issues have cost us points, and we cannot afford that in such a fiercely contested World Championship. It’s no use having the pace if we don’t achieve tangible results.” A revised engine, which the team brought with them to Austria at the end of June, was intended to provide an initial remedy here.

Wolff: “Spa is one of the biggest challenges on the racing calendar. As at Silverstone, energy management will play a key role, but the characteristics of the circuit pose different demands. There are usually exciting races here with genuine overtaking opportunities, whilst qualifying remains a major challenge.” Particularly when it comes to energy management.

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Mercedes has dropped too many points

Wolff: “The final double-header before the summer break is about to begin, and we want to head into the break with a better result. Our aim is to deliver a clean weekend, ensure the necessary reliability and convert the car’s existing performance into points. We’ve dropped too many points recently. That mustn’t happen again from this weekend onwards.” After Belgium, it’s on to Hungary – and then the summer break.