Toto Wolff is wary of “political knives” towards Mercedes as they look to continue their perfect start to the 2026 Formula 1 season at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have won a Grand Prix apiece, both leading Mercedes one-twos, after early battles with the Ferraris in Australia and China.
Mercedes are already 31 points clear of Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship while Russell leads Antonelli by four points in the Drivers’ Championship with Charles Leclerc 17 points behind Russell and Lewis Hamilton a further point adrift.
Leclerc, who has finished fourth in the last three Suzuka, told Sky Sports F1 Ferrari have a “big gap” to Mercedes which is “disappointing”.
“Mercedes are very strong in general. Then again, I said it multiple times that this year will all be about development, but the Mercedes is extremely strong,” he said.
“They are, for sure, the big favourites. If we manage to turn that situation around, it will be very impressive.”
One way Mercedes’ rivals could catch the Silver Arrows is through the three periods of Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) during the season.
Teams judged to be at least two per cent behind the manufacturer with the best-performing internal combustion engine awarded development opportunities. The first ADUO is due to be after the sixth round of the season in Monaco in June, although this may change following the cancellations of April’s Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix.
There are also ongoing discussions about F1’s current state of racing and whether there is too much reliance on electrical deployment, which has contributed to a yoyo style of overtakes and re-overtakes. The new 2020 power units are 50 per cent electric and 50 per cent internal combustion engine.
Wolff said: “We have a good car, at this stage, that is capable of winning. Let’s see what kind of political knives are going to come out in the next few weeks and months. But at the moment it’s a car that is capable of winning.”
Wolff: Mercedes still need to ‘shield’ Antonelli
Last time out in China, Antonelli became F1’s youngest ever pole-sitter at 19 years and 201 days, before converting it into a maiden Grand Prix victory.
Antonelli is only in his second F1 campaign after a mixed debut season where he finished on the podium three times but also made several mistakes.
The Italian crashed in final practice of this year’s season-opener in Australia but Mercedes just repaired his car in time for Antonelli to qualify on the front row and finish the race in second.
“When he went off on the Saturday morning, it was not like he carried the whole thing into the briefing,” said Wolff.
“He came in and said, ‘that wasn’t good’, but he kind of compartmentalised and said, ‘OK, let’s move on’. And then it wasn’t there anymore.
“This is a feature that I’ve seen with great sports people. You make the mistake, you analyse, you look at the data, you find your answers and then you put it back, put it in a box. And that’s what he’s doing. The interaction in the engineering room, there’s just so much maturity that he has learned over the last 12 months.”
Wolff revealed Antonelli also needs to learn to say “no” to people despite the high interest around the teenager.
He added: “It’s something that actually comes natural with him. Similar to the talent in the car, he’s always been someone that is able to capture a room and capture people for himself. He’s quite affectionate.
“It’s a little bit of an Italian thing, but he’s able to take people on his journey with him, with being very warm. That’s why he has so great relationships in the team.
“The mechanics love him, and the engineering, the comms people, marketing. But in a way, we also need to shield him from that, because people take advantage because he really struggles to say no.”
Formula 1 heads to the iconic Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.
