Wolff: Mercedes race starts 'not good enough'

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff delivered a blunt assessment of his team's recurring race start issues, calling their performance "not good enough" after Kimi Antonelli lost the lead from pole position at the Miami Grand Prix. Wolff acknowledged the problem is a mix of team procedure and driver execution, stressing it must be fixed urgently in a tightly packed competitive field where every position is critical.

Why it matters:

Consistently losing positions at the start is a costly flaw for a championship-contending team. In a season where Mercedes has won all four races but failed to lead after the opening lap in any of them, these repeated mistakes threaten to erase their qualifying advantage and could prove decisive in closer title fights.

The details:

• Wolff identified the issue as a "team mistake," citing failures in providing drivers with the right tools, whether related to clutch operation or grip level estimates at the start.
• He noted Mercedes is currently an outlier, stating, "we are the only ones who, let's say, don't get that right now for a few races."
• The problem has been exacerbated by a technical regulation change. The removal of the MGU-H from the current power units has made managing turbo deployment and traction off the line more challenging for all drivers.
• Despite Antonelli securing three consecutive pole positions, he has been unable to convert any into a race lead by the first corner, highlighting the scale of the operational issue.

What's next:

Wolff has ordered the team to "dig even deeper" to understand and resolve the start procedure flaws. With minimal performance gaps separating the top teams, Mercedes cannot afford to "cruise into the sunset" and must perfect their launches to maintain their current winning streak and championship momentum. The team's ability to solve this repeated operational error will be a key test of their title credentials.