Mercedes' 'unacceptable' F1 starts: What's going wrong?

Mercedes has an unwanted streak in 2025: it has been beaten to the first corner from pole position in every grand prix so far. In Miami, Kimi Antonelli again failed to hold the lead, slipping behind Leclerc and Verstappen before running wide. Team boss Toto Wolff called the situation 'unacceptable' and admitted the team is not giving drivers the right tools.

Why it matters:

While Mercedes has recovered well thanks to close racing, that may not be possible as overtaking becomes harder. Poor starts could cost championships if the trend continues.

The Details:

• The root causes vary by race: In Australia, both drivers hit recharge limits during the formation lap, preventing proper burnouts.
• In China, Antonelli misjudged his battery strategy and became distracted by defending from Ferraris.
• In Japan, Antonelli triggered wheelspin with an aggressive clutch release, while Russell was affected by a braking force release issue.
• Despite homework over the April break, Miami showed no improvement. Antonelli dropped from pole in the sprint and again from pole in the grand prix.
• Technical insight: The team provides a clutch release target based on grip prediction. In Miami, Antonelli hit the target, but actual grip was lower than expected, causing wheelspin. The team lacked data because all practice starts were on the clean side of the grid, while Antonelli started the sprint from the dirty side. He also missed practice starts due to a power unit issue.
• Antonelli himself admits inconsistency: 'I still don’t have that confidence... it’s a big point that needs to be improved.'

What's next:

Mercedes must urgently solve the start problem. Wolff stresses the need to dig deeper into clutch and grip estimation. With the grid so tight, even small losses at the start can decide races. The team is analyzing data from each incident, but a unified fix remains elusive.