How Mercedes’ 2026 season has played out so far

(opens in a new tab)Sign InSubscribeF1ScheduleResultsStandingsDriversTeamsF1 UnlockedOpen menuFIA if(window.f1MobileDetection.iOSSafari) { var meta = document.createElement("meta"); meta.name = "apple-itunes-app"; meta.content = "app-id=835022598, app-argument=https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/half-term-report-mercedes-best-and-worst-moments-from-2026-so-far-and-driver-head-to-heads.QM9JIE7lNuHZjNH5EYiLa.QM9JIE7lNuHZjNH5EYiLa"; document.head.appendChild(meta); } {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/half-term-report-mercedes-best-and-worst-moments-from-2026-so-far-and-driver-head-to-heads.QM9JIE7lNuHZjNH5EYiLa","url":"https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/half-term-report-mercedes-best-and-worst-moments-from-2026-so-far-and-driver-head-to-heads.QM9JIE7lNuHZjNH5EYiLa","mainEntityOfPage":"https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/half-term-report-mercedes-best-and-worst-moments-from-2026-so-far-and-driver-head-to-heads.QM9JIE7lNuHZjNH5EYiLa","datePublished":"2026-08-19T13:53:51.989Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T13:53:51.989Z","headline":"HALF TERM REPORT: Mercedes’ best and worst moments from 2026 so far and driver head-to-heads","author":"F1","description":"To round out our series of half term reports, let’s take a look at Mercedes’ highs and lows from this season. \n","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://media.formula1.com/image/upload/f_auto/q_auto/v1787147552/fom-website/2026/Mercedes/TEAM%20PREVIEWSHALF%20TERM%20REPORTS%20V1%20(35).png"},"isAccessibleForFree":"true","publisher":{"@type":"SportsOrganization","@id":"https://www.formula1.com#organization","name":"Formula 1","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.formula1.com/etc/designs/fom-website/social/f1-default-share.jpg","width":"480","height":"120"}}}Half Term Reports 2026MercedesKimi AntonelliShow more tagsHALF TERM REPORT: Mercedes’ best and worst moments from 2026 so far and driver head-to-headsTo round out our series of half term reports, let’s take a look at Mercedes’ highs and lows from this season. Mercedes have their best chance since 2021 to return to championship-winning glory, having emerged as the team to beat under the new regulations, but reliability woes have transformed them into their own biggest enemy. Despite leading the standings, Kimi Antonelli has lost out on valuable points due to unfortunate retirements, as has his frustrated team mate George Russell. The races leading up to the summer break saw their competitors close up too, so will the Silver Arrows be able to stay out in front? Let’s dive into their half term report… Antonelli – 1st in China, Japan, Miami, Canada, Monaco and Belgium; Russell – 1st in Australia and Austria Mercedes got off to a flying start in 2026 with the new-look W17 as Russell and Antonelli secured a dominant 1-2 finish in Australia, with their closest rivals at Ferrari crossing the line over 15s behind the Briton. While Russell’s misfortunes began to ramp up after the season opener, his teenage counterpart went on a magnificent run of five victories and became the youngest-ever championship leader in the process, building a commanding lead. But his success couldn’t last forever and he suffered his first DNF at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix whilst running in second place. It wasn’t until Round 10 in Belgium that he stood on the top step again, allowing Russell to capitalise on his downturn in performance and take his second win of the year in Austria. Antonelli currently holds a 59-point lead over Russell, but he also has the edge when it comes to Qualifying performances. The Italian claimed his first career pole position in China and has matched the result a further five times, with Great Britain representing the only instance he has failed to convert it into a win. Although Russell isn’t far behind, having qualified on pole on four occasions, some weekends have seen him suffer a sizeable deficit of several tenths to Antonelli, such as in Miami and Belgium. Race head-to-head Russell 4-7 Antonelli Antonelli has the upper hand when it comes to their performances on race day too. His tally of six triumphs outshines Russell’s two wins, but their overall consistency has been impressive – every round so far has seen at least one Mercedes driver finish on the podium. The Briton outperformed Antonelli through victories in Australia and Austria and was able to make the most of unlucky weekends for his team mate in Barcelona-Catalunya and Great Britain (both of which saw him finish the Grands Prix with zero points) to wind up in the top three. It may not have been entirely expected, but Antonelli’s victory streak was a throwback to Mercedes’ dominance of seasons gone by, marking a highly anticipated turnaround for the team that never quite got to grips with the recent ground effect era. And on a personal note, it was a decisive response to the youngster’s critics after his mistake-ridden rookie campaign. Winning at a wide range of circuits, including the notorious challenge of Monaco, demonstrated that Toto Wolff’s faith in him was never unfounded. Antonelli’s triumph in the Principality may indeed have been his greatest yet – after crossing the line three laps down in the 2025 edition of the race, he looked like a different driver this time around as he evaded a late attempt by Max Verstappen to qualify on pole position. From there, he confidently led from the front and survived two Safety Cars and a red flag to hold off Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, showing a level of maturity that proved he’s more than ready to pursue his maiden title. Worst moment On the other side of the garage, Russell has spent more time berating his car and, at times, himself rather than celebrating results. From his "strange" lack of pace to believing it’s “impossible” to take the fight to Antonelli, he’s had a rollercoaster first half of the season. As we’ve mentioned, the Italian has endured some bad luck too, but the unwanted honour of Mercedes’ worst moment has to go to Russell’s retirement from the Canadian Grand Prix. Three weeks after he missed out on a podium in Miami, a track he openly dislikes, he arrived in Canada refreshed and went on to qualify on pole for the Sprint. That soon turned into a much-needed win and was followed up with another pole position, this time for the main event. Russell was hounded by Antonelli at lights out, with the pair getting stuck into a tense contest for the lead, but he just about held on before his power unit suddenly failed 30 laps in. It not only added another incident to Mercedes’ growing list of reliability concerns, but also left the Briton in shock as he watched a race win slip out of his grasp, leaving him with an even bigger mountain to climb in the championship battle. Mercedes are obviously in an enviable position thanks to their 79-point lead over Ferrari in the teams’ standings, but if last season proved anything, it’s that advantages can disappear faster than you think. The players have switched from McLaren and Red Bull to the Silver Arrows and Ferrari – more specifically, Antonelli, Russell and Hamilton, with the 41-year-old enjoying a slim nine-point margin over his former team mate. While keeping Ferrari at bay over the remaining rounds won’t be the easiest task, especially as the Italian team have introduced many effective upgrades, it seems like the Brackley-based outfit already have enough of an overall edge to control both championships – as long as they fix their reliability issues. Leading the standings and having a better engine won’t mean anything if their drivers continue to be knocked back by retirements that are out of their hands, which is something Wolff has previously admitted is “not good enough”. It’s theirs to lose, and the Team Principal knows from experience that being the hunted rather than the hunter is a complicated position to defend. Their targets for the rest of the season will be threefold: get on top of the mechanical problems, help Russell rediscover some consistent form, and continue to develop Antonelli into World Champion material. Why Sainz has put his faith in Williams once again 9 times superhero movies made it onto the F1 grid How McLaren’s 2026 season has played out so farOUR PARTNERSView allDownload the Official F1 AppYour ultimate companion into
the world of Formula 1 Legal & complianceTerms of Use Beyond The Grid - the F1® podcast F1FacebookXInstagramYouTube© 2003-2026 Formula One World Championship Limited