Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed the W16 appears “less prone to swings in performance” compared to last year’s car, with flashes of front-running pace in Australia.

George Russell finished on the podium on Sunday, moving up a place after Oscar Piastri’s dip into the grass at a wet Albert Park, while Kimi Antonelli rose up from 16th on the grid to finish an impressive fourth on debut – though Wolff did stress the team still had a “healthy dose of realism” regarding their place in the competitive order.

Toto Wolff: Mercedes W16 offers ‘stable platform’ for Russell and Antonelli

McLaren appeared to establish themselves as the early frontrunners in the F1 2025 season after Lando Norris locked out the front row with Piastri, before the Briton took victory on Sunday ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Mercedes left Australia level with McLaren for the early lead in the Constructors’ Championship, but Wolff explained the team’s aim is about “unlocking more potential” from the car.

As a starting point, however, Wolff acknowledged the W16 appeared to offer both drivers a good platform with which to work, alongside having taken a “good step forward” over the winter break.

He reserved praise for both, too – for Antonelli after an impressive rise through the field on his debut, and for Russell for a “flawless” navigation to the podium.

“We leave Australia with many positives but also a healthy dose of realism as to where we stand in the pecking order,” Wolff said.

“The W16 provided a stable platform for the drivers, was less prone to swings in performance relative to the conditions than its predecessor, and at moments, showed strong enough pace to challenge at the front.

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“It’s clear we have taken a good step forward over the winter. Our focus is now on unlocking more potential and adding performance. We are excited for that challenge.

“The race itself was well-executed. We made the right decisions at the right time to claim our first podium of the season.

“George drove a flawless race, pushing when he needed to, managing his pace to capitalise on the podium and taking advantage of the opportunities when they presented themselves. A top performance and just underlies his speed, maturity and intelligence.

“For Kimi, he could not have asked for a more difficult task on his Grand Prix debut: starting out of position, facing extremely difficult conditions and, at times, a treacherous track.

“Nevertheless, he handled everything that was thrown at him with a maturity beyond his years. His speed when in free air was impressive and his confidence and decisiveness when overtaking were superb.

“There will be challenging moments for him across the season, but we are pleased with the trajectory we are seeing from him already. P4 was a just reward.”

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