As Formula 1 reached its halfway point, teams and drivers started will have reflected on their performance through the first twelve rounds of the season. While Mercedes holds third place in the 2025 Constructors’ Championship with 210 points, their British driver George Russell sits 4th in the 2025 F1 Drivers’ Championship standings at mid-season, garnering the critical 147 points for the Silver Arrows.
The first half of the season has been a mixed bag for George Russell. Although he had races where he showed the F1 world how brilliantly he could execute the car’s performance, such as winning in Canada, the underlying issues with the W16 hindered his performance from time to time. The Briton’s highlights of the season are his 1 win in Montreal and 5 podiums in total.
Early identification of W16’s problem
Russell made a solid entrance to the 2025 F1 season with his podium finishes in Australia and Shanghai. Both of these results demonstrated the car’s potential when starting the race near the sharp end of the grid. Nevertheless, one of the main struggles with the W16 started showing itself early on, which is getting the tyres in the right window during the sessions. Another problem was the tyre overheating, which posed a threat to Russell in managing races.
Japan was rather a frustrating race for the British driver, where he finished in the same place he started. The car’s sensitivity to the track conditions was becoming more visible at each race at this point. Bahrain was another success for Russell, claiming his third podium in the first four races. However, his race was far from being easy. Russell dealt with electrical issues such as the pedal inconsistency and transponder issues requiring manual DRS override. Though he managed to hold off Lando Norriss and secure second place, the technical issues he faced signalled major concern for the team.
Tyre overheating was identified again in Saudi Arabia, where Russell finished in P5. The Briton explained that tyre degradation was the main problem that prevented him holding off Leclerc and Norris. The Mercedes driver succeeded in extracting a strong result in Miami, where he stepped onto the podium once again against the odds that the W16 presented.
W16’s misery
The first and only win of the season for Mercedes so far came from Russell in Montreal. Before the Canadian Grand Prix, Mercedes had been facing major problems with their tyres and track conditions, particularly high temperatures.
When the temperature is cold, Mercedes’ W16 would come alive and be super quick on the tracks. However, the car constantly struggled to keep the tyres in the right window when the mercury rose and the temperature became very hot.
Though Bahrain was an outlier in Mercedes’ performance statistics in the desert conditions, with Russell finishing in second place, the Brackley team struggled profoundly in the European triple-header.
While the heat waves swept across the European continent, Mercedes failed to perform well. Before heading to Imola, Mercedes introduced a new rear-suspension geometry to solve their tyre problem with the heat. However, the upgrade did not meet the expectations, and the rear axle overheating continued to plague the car. Russell described the situation of the car as “the worst day we’ve had as a team” despite finishing P7. Thus, the British team decided not to continue with the suspension in the next destinations of the triple-header.
Monaco was the first destination of the season where Russell failed to garner points for the Brackley-based team. The new mandatory two-stop rule, merging with the car’s limitations and penalty for an illegal overtake, resulted in no points.
Barcelona was another challenge for the Mercedes duo, where the track temperature almost hit 50 °C. Nevertheless, Russell claimed fourth place in the Spanish Grand Prix, which could be perceived as a good result at first glance. However, Briton was far off the pace of the front runners until the safety car showed itself on the track. His teammate Kimi Antonelli experienced a Power Unit problem. The reliability of W16’s heat dissipation and pace was still a subject of discussion.
A well-deserved win for Russell
For the Canadian weekend, Mercedes gave another chance to the rear suspension set-up they used in Imola. This time, their performance was phenomenal. Starting from the pole position to the Sunday race, Russell was the first to cross the chequered flag.
While this was a major win for Russell’s career as well as Mercedes’ position in the championship, the upgrade also made it possible for Antonelli to achieve his maiden podium.
Nevertheless, the brilliant result garnered at the Canadian GP wasn’t enough to identify whether the update worked or not. However, it was clear that in certain conditions and track layouts, W16 was a strong car in terms of competition.
Ongoing problems with the car
After a memorable Canadian weekend, Russell once again experienced a disappointing race in Spielberg. Being unable to challenge the McLarens and Ferraris ahead, the British driver struggled with his car on abrasive asphalt under hot conditions. Longer corners also led him to underperform. Noting the significant gap between him and the leader of the race, Russell stated that P5 was the maximum he could extract from the weekend.
The last race of the first half of the season was Russell’s home race, where he finished P10. Poor tyre strategy from the team potentially cost Russell a race.
Looking from a positive perspective
Nevertheless the mixed results he received, one thing that stands out about Russell this season is his consistency in appearing on the podiums. In the 12 races he has competed in so far, the British driver has stepped on the podium 5 times.
To sum up, he came third in Melbourne, Shanghai, and Miami, second in Bahrain, and first in Montreal. Compared to the first half of his previous seasons, the number is unmatched. In terms of performance, Russell has been showcasing his best F1 season.
Since the departure of Lewis Hamilton from the Brackley team, George Russell has become the main focus of Mercedes. This also induced him to be the senior driver of the team, a role model for the rookie Antonelli to look up to. Antonelli himself once said in an interview that Russel helps him to develop and push himself even further. Having the “big brother” mentality made Russell a more responsible and mature driver. In all of the problems he faced with the W16, the British drivers had taken more of a constructive role to improve the car.
Another thing that fuels Russell’s performance each weekend is the speculations that have been circulating around about a possible Mercedes-Verstappen collaboration. Russell and Verstappen do not always get along perfectly well. Not wanting to lose his seat in Mercedes to the 4-time world champion, Russell has been trying to give his best in the race weekends.
Second half of the season
George Russell has come a long way in advancing his driving style and championship mentality over the years. The first half of his 2025 season has been nothing but progress for him in his career. The problems and regressions he faced in the first twelve rounds were mostly caused by the issues of the car rather than his own mistakes.
While winning the championship at the end of the season might be a long shot for the British driver, ranking in the top three is highly possible. He might take advantage of the chaos at Red Bull and get ahead of Max Verstappen. However, Ferrari always poses a threat for the second half of the season, which is currently preparing upgrades to raise their race pace and become consistent with both of their drivers.
For Russell to sustain his rank in the drivers’ standings and garner critical points for his team, Mercedes needs to bring a solid remedy to its issues with the W16. Russell might have to work closely with his engineers to analyse his data gathered in the first 12 races.
The set-up optimisation to overcome the tyre overheating and inconsistent car performance is a must. W16 is a car that is very sensitive to track conditions. It appears to perform relatively well on cooler tracks and fails to support drivers’ talents in hot temperatures. Mercedes should review its tyre and traffic strategies while updating the car to prevent races like Monaco and Silverstone from happening again. Russell has been good in qualifying sessions; however, due to the car’s problems, this performance can not always be transferred to the Sunday races.
Despite having a difficult car to manage, Russell has executed a strong first half of the season. The competition for the top three in the Drivers’ Championship is still not over for the Briton if his team manages to elevate his efforts in taking the best out of W16.
