{"id":781357,"date":"2026-07-05T07:29:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T07:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/781357\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T07:29:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T07:29:28","slug":"f1-mailbag-can-mercedes-stay-ahead-and-why-are-aston-martin-struggling-so-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/781357\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 mailbag: Can Mercedes stay ahead and why are Aston Martin struggling so much?"},"content":{"rendered":"

SPIELBERG, Austria \u2014 The Austrian Grand Prix saw Mercedes return to the top of the podium, only this time it was George Russell standing there<\/a> for the first time since March\u2019s season-opener in Australia.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, his 19-year-old teammate Kimi Antonelli has been on a tear.<\/p>\n

But Russell benefited from a critical moment in qualifying. Max Verstappen, who went on to finish second in an upgraded Red Bull, crashed at Turn 9 on Saturday. Russell lifted off the throttle in accordance with the single-yellow flag<\/a> but continued his lap, while Antonelli mistakenly thought they were double-yellow flags and abandoned his.<\/p>\n

Track position and bold pit-strategy decisions aided Russell\u2019s victory, narrowing the gap between him and Antonelli in the driver standings to 40 points heading into the British Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, on the heels of Lewis Hamilton\u2019s big win in Barcelona, Ferrari faced questions about its lack of pace,<\/a> and the pecking order among the frontrunners has become more muddled as the development battle continues.<\/p>\n

With just three races to go before the summer shutdown, there\u2019s plenty to unpack after a busy weekend on and off the track in the Styrian mountains. Let\u2019s dive into your post-Austrian GP questions.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: Questions have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.<\/p>\n

Can Mercedes keep ahead of the upgrade packages that their competitors are continuing to bring in? \u2014 joydeep.biswas<\/p>\n

A technical development battle is unfolding. It is skewing the field and making it harder for midfield teams to catch up. As Charles Leclerc noted in Austria, \u201cAs a whole, it\u2019s difficult to understand the pecking order this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rate of development at Ferrari is different to that at McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes, as the Italian team hasn\u2019t exactly slowed down on the upgrades. Typically, there are ebbs and flows across an entire season, big upgrades spaced out with some smaller bits in-between. Mercedes\u2019 last big upgrade came in Montreal at the end of May, and for Red Bull before Austria, its last of that magnitude was in Miami at the beginning of May.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a race of upgrades, a consistent pattern from a competitiveness point of view,\u201d McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said Saturday, \u201cand I think this sets for us the usual requirement and demand in terms of bringing our own upgrades.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Mercedes doesn\u2019t have an upgrade planned for its engine, team boss Toto Wolff said after Sunday\u2019s race. But there are updated components coming on the chassis, with \u201csmall enhancements here and there,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Mercedes still holds an edge over the other three front-runners, but being able to consistently develop its car package will be critical. A component to keep in mind is the cost cap,<\/a> which limits spending across a multitude of areas (much of it heavily focused on car performance). Teams need to strategically decide how they spend their money and when.<\/p>\n

There are 14 race weekends to go, so it looks likely that Mercedes is spreading its upgrades across the season. It can\u2019t afford to stay stagnant, regardless of the edge it has.<\/p>\n

Madeline Coleman<\/p>\n

Is Aston Martin completely lost? They seem to be the worst car on the grid, even worse than Cadillac. \u2014 James<\/p>\n

This season was supposed to be the year Aston Martin finally made the step to become one of the leading teams, the stars aligning with its state-of-the-art factory, exclusive engine supply from Honda and a car designed by Adrian Newey.<\/p>\n

The reality has been starkly different. Design and production delays caused Aston to miss the start of preseason testing. Once the car did get on the track, it proved both unreliable and slow, with Newey \u2014 Formula 1\u2019s greatest-ever car designer, now Aston\u2019s team principal \u2014 laying bare its issues in Australia.<\/p>\n

Fernando Alonso managed to snare a point in the madness of Monaco earlier this month,<\/a> but a last-row lockout in Austria proved just how far off the pace Aston remain.<\/p>\n

There is a glimmer of light. In an interview published on Aston\u2019s website on Tuesday,<\/a> Newey confirmed a major car upgrade \u2014 what is being talked about in the paddock as essentially a B-spec car \u2014 is in the works for the Hungarian Grand Prix later this month. Instead of bringing lots of little updates for the car, the team has put all its efforts into one big update package.<\/p>\n

\"Aston<\/p>\n

\n Fernando Alonso finished 18th in Austria, while teammate Lance Stroll did not finish. (Rudy Carezzevoli \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In the interview, Newey explained the car was \u201cquite a long way overweight,\u201d and that the team was struggling with \u201ctools and processes that had been patched and bodged for years.\u201d It led to parts being ordered at the wrong time because of the \u201cfailing\u201d system, per Newey. It\u2019s a similar issue that Williams has combatted in recent years, undoing years of simply \u2018making do\u2019 and underinvestment to get the facility to a place where it\u2019s fully fit for purpose.<\/p>\n

The updated car is focused on getting very close to the weight limit, as well as redeveloping many of the aerodynamic surfaces. Newey didn\u2019t want to state any firm targets for where it should take the team. \u201cWe\u2019re predicting a large step, but I\u2019m reluctant to put specific numbers out there,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll have to see when the car gets on track.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lot hinges on the update, particularly when it comes to the future of Alonso who, at 44, knows he is nearing the end of his F1 career. He\u2019s already hinted that next year could be his last, and spoke in Austria about considering whether he wants to race in F1 next year or to pursue something else.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very important,\u201d Newey said of the update. \u201cFernando is really looking forward to the upgrade and, if it performs we hope he\u2019ll be in the cockpit for another season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke Smith<\/p>\n

What actually is going on with McLaren \u2014 Joel O.<\/p>\n

Stella said Saturday after qualifying that McLaren is \u201cat least two months of development\u201d behind the other teams, if not three months to be able to catch up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s only one way of doing so, which is to out-develop competitors,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe need to rev our engine higher, we need to have more intensity in the business, we need to be good at delivering effective solutions. What I see in the pipeline is very promising, especially in terms of aerodynamic upgrades.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Oscar Piastri finished fourth in Austria. (Darko Bandic \/ POOL \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

McLaren has regularly brought upgrades, but they\u2019ve varied in scale. Some haven\u2019t been used, like its version of Ferrari\u2019s rotating rear wing. It\u2019ll take more than a single upgrade package to close the performance gap, considering the unfolding development battle. McLaren also feels it\u2019s in a deficit with the engine, Stella said Saturday.<\/p>\n

McLaren need to work on generating more downforce with its car and determining why it faces a speed deficit in the engine. According to Stella, the team faces around a three- to four-tenths of a second gap to Mercedes.<\/p>\n

Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth in Austria, said that was the maximum for the team, adding they were surprised to beat Ferrari. \u201cStrategy probably helped us out with that, but the pace was a little bit stronger than them, but clearly not strong enough to go and get Mercedes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In order to contend, McLaren needs to step up its development game. With a 143-point gap in the constructors\u2019 standings to leaders Mercedes, the Silver Arrows currently look untouchable.<\/p>\n

Madeline Coleman<\/p>\n

Do you believe the rumors that Nikola Tsolov has a seat at Racing Bulls next year? If so, who would he replace? Liam Lawson\u2019s doing well and Arvid Lindblad is young and talented. I don\u2019t think Isack Hadjar is going anywhere as well. \u2014 Murray C.<\/p>\n

Red Bull has long prided itself on the success of its junior program, producing drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Verstappen. But it has certainly gained a reputation for cycling through talents very quickly and having the next young driver on standby for a seat.<\/p>\n

Next in line within the Red Bull junior setup is Tsolov. The 19-year-old Bulgarian was runner-up in Formula 3 last year and has made a scintillating start to his Formula 2 career, scoring four wins in the opening six rounds. His feature race win in Austria puts him just two points off the points leader, Gabriele Mini, heading to Silverstone.<\/p>\n

Tsolov is building a strong argument for a future F1 opportunity. But there\u2019s nothing set in stone with Racing Bulls for next year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Campos Racing\u2019s Nikola Tsolov celebrates victory at Albert Park Circuit in Formula 2 earlier this year. (Martin Keep \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The team has started this year very well with both Lawson, who looks back to his best after the bruising Red Bull demotion last year, and Lindblad who is very highly rated within the Red Bull setup.<\/p>\n

There was a bit of tension between the pair in Austria as they fought over ninth and 10th, but that firmly put Racing Bulls as the top midfield team \u2014 a title it has coveted for years but struggled to realize. It\u2019s a good problem to have.<\/p>\n

As I noted in my round-up last week, there\u2019s plenty of moving parts to the driver market that make it unwise for anyone to lock plans in too firmly just yet. But when the time comes for some movement at Racing Bulls, then Tsolov is doing everything right so far to ensure he\u2019s at the front of the queue.<\/p>\n

Luke Smith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPIELBERG, Austria \u2014 The Austrian Grand Prix saw Mercedes return to the top of the podium, only this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":781358,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,12716,82],"class_list":["post-781357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-motorsports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=781357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/781358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=781357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=781357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=781357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}