Mercedes F1 boss admits team ‘out of sync’ after Miami failure

Mercedes

Mercedes boss admits team ‘out of sync’ after Miami failure

Mercedes were handily beaten by their rivals in the Miami sprint race

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Sunday 3 May 2026 12:06 Updated: 16:22

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Toto Wolff has provided an explanation for Mercedes sliding backward in the pack at the Miami Grand Prix.

Teams came back to the track this weekend after an unusual five-week break, enforced by the cancellation of the Saudi Arabian and Bahrain Grands Prix.

That long gap between races, and the rapid improvements possible early in a regulation package, meant that some teams were able to bring a whole host of upgrades to the US.

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McLaren and Red Bull brought seven updates apiece while Ferrari brought 11 – the most of any team on the grid – but Mercedes brought just two updated parts and have fallen from their dominant perch.

Wolff reveals Mercedes optimism after Miami sprint

Wolff admitted after the weekend's sprint race that the Silver Arrows' update schedule is out of sync with their rivals, with the current championship leaders expected to bring a more expanded package to Canada in three weeks time.

That should, in theory, allow them to make up some of the performance gap that other teams (especially McLaren) have eroded this weekend. Indeed, the papaya cars have dominated their silver brethren so far this weekend, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli initially picking up just fourth and sixth place respectively in the sprint.

However, in the immediate aftermath of the 100km event, the Italian teenager was demoted to P6 post-race, behind Russell and Max Verstappen.

Speaking after the disappointing race in Miami, Wolff told the media: "We know that we are a little out of sync with our upgrades compared to other teams. We were hoping we were going to be able to hold on to our advantage, and in terms of pure lap times, we were close to the pace at the front in the sprint."

Part of Antonelli's problem in the sprint was a dreadful getaway from the front row, which saw him slide back behind the top three and into a battle with his own team-mate for fourth.

The teenager was cleared of responsibility for that start by his boss after the race, who blamed an issue on the team's side. His five-second penalty for exceeding track limits four times in just 19 laps, though, was addressed in a private debrief, leading to his eventual demotion.

Wolff continued: "If you have a bad getaway, which wasn’t at all Kimi’s fault but was an issue on our side, it is going to be difficult to fight back. This season is going to be a pure development race and whoever brings a few tenths before their competitors will gain an advantage."

One other nugget of note on the performance changes since Japan, and what Mercedes came into the weekend expecting: The Times' Molly Hudson noted that Russell seemed 'quite surprised' to hear that Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull were bringing their major update packages as soon as this weekend, and not in Canada.

Antonelli bounced back later on Saturday to claim pole position for Sunday's main event, which was brought forward to 1pm local time (ET) as a result of weather chaos in the South Florida region.

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