Heading into the 2026 F1 Canadian GP, Mercedes hold a 70-point lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship, with Kimi Antonelli 20 clear of teammate George Russell on the Drivers’ side.
While the pace of the W17 in every Grand Prix has been very strong, taking out all four wins to date, the starts have been a big issue.
In the opening four rounds of F1 2026, Kimi Antonelli has lost 20 places on the first lap, with Mercedes teammate George Russell losing four himself. While the drivers have played a role in those bad starts, they have also been let down by the software.
Antonelli on changes to come for Mercedes at 2026 F1 Canadian GP
With the Brackley-based squad set to unleash upgrades this weekend, starts have been also been a key area to continue to work on. As McLaren and Williams have proven with their launches off the line in Miami, it is not a Power Unit issue hampering all teams with a Mercedes engine.
Speaking in his print media session ahead of the 2026 F1 Canadian GP, Kimi Antonelli revealed he is getting a new clutch paddle as Mercedes attempt to sort out the gremlins off the line.
“This weekend, obviously, we’re bringing a lot of new things in the car. And definitely, also, there’s a few bits about the start.
“We have a new clutch paddle on my side to differentiate, just to help me to be a bit more consistent with the drops.
“And, of course, the team has been working very hard on the software side as well. Also, yeah, on the car side, just to try and find more performance and also make the system a bit more robust.
“But for sure there’s been a lot of work going on, because, for example, McLaren, they have the same PU as us and they are starting very well. So, there is definitely something that we’re missing.
“But this weekend we are bringing a lot of changes, and we’ll see already from tomorrow whether it is going to be better or not.”
George Russell believes Mercedes race starts cannot be solved quickly ahead of Canada
Although Montréal and Monaco have relatively short runs to the first corner, the Circuit de Catalunya features a massive run to turn 1. That race comes in just over three weekend’s time.
George Russell explained that it will not be easy for the team to fix the software and clutch issues instantly. In fact, he outlined the medium term until they potentially have everything sorted.
As McLaren made a huge step in Miami, getting on top of these problems is going to be even more important for Mercedes at the 2026 F1 Canadian GP and beyond.
“Well, obviously the starts are a big focus for us because that’s clearly our biggest weak point.
“We know short term is going to be difficult to make major gains, and we’re obviously trying as hard as we can to solve it short term. But there’s also some medium term items that we need to make changes to and continue to improve.
“And, of course, race starts, we don’t get to practice very often. You can’t practice it on the simulator really. Some races you cannot even practice in free practice the race starts.
“So we’ll keep trying our best to improve.”
