END OF YEAR REPORT: Mercedes’ best and worst moments from 2025 and driver head-to-heads

With McLaren runaway winners of this season’s Teams’ Championship, Mercedes will take some satisfaction from being next best – the Silver Arrows’ runner-up spot was an improvement on 2024’s fourth place, even if they were 364 points behind the champions. However, with 2025 marking the start of their post-Lewis Hamilton era, there is much to be positive about ahead of the arrival of 2026’s new regulations. Here is Mercedes’ end of year report…

Best finish

George Russell – 1st in Canada and Singapore

With Hamilton departing over the off-season, courtesy of his blockbuster move to Ferrari, George Russell assumed the position of senior driver at Mercedes. He has taken to the role like a duck to water.

Not only has the Briton found a new level of consistency, but he added two impressive Grand Prix victories of his own in Canada and in Singapore. In the words of his boss Toto Wolff, he has been “formidable” in 2025.

With seven more podiums scored on top of those wins, Russell was deservedly best of the rest behind this season’s title-fighting trio of Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, ultimately finishing in fourth place with 319 points.

Qualifying head-to-head

Russell 21-3 Antonelli

As is perhaps not surprising, Russell’s experience told as he had the better of rookie team mate Kimi Antonelli in Qualifying – the former having completed his seventh season in Formula 1 compared to the young Italian’s first.

Two pole positions came the way of Russell in Canada and Singapore – both races he would go on to win – while he described his effort around Montreal as “one of the most exhilarating laps of my life.”

Much has been said of Antonelli’s mid-season slump over the European leg of the campaign, but the Italian still caught they eye at times with his one-lap pace. Look no further than his Sprint pole in Miami as he became F1’s youngest-ever polesitter in any format.

Race head-to-head

Russell 21-3 Antonelli

The Mercedes duo’s race head-to-head matches the Qualifying numbers – again the more experienced Russell comes out on top, which is hardly surprising given his nine podium finishes.

As mentioned, Antonelli’s form dropped over the European leg of the season after a promising start, but also picked up in the latter portion of the campaign. Three podiums (in Canada, Sao Paulo and Las Vegas) is far from a poor return for the teenager, and his highest finish of second in Brazil came with a charging Verstappen breathing down his neck.

Best moment

While Singapore was a great day for the Silver Arrows – as Russell won with Antonelli coming home in fifth – Canada was undoubtedly the highlight for Mercedes this year.

Not only did Russell secure victory – a win the Briton said he felt had made up for the “victory lost” in 2024 – but Antonelli scored his first podium with third at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

Worst moment

Monaco was a nightmare weekend for Mercedes. Both drivers suffered early Qualifying exits as Antonelli crashed out in the final minutes of Q1 and Russell’s car lost power in Q2. If ever there’s a Qualifying session you don’t want to be out of early, then it’s Monaco.

As Antonelli and Russell lined up in 15th and 14th respectively on the grid, Sunday would prove to be an utterly frustrating affair as they were stuck in traffic. So exasperated was Russell at being unable to pass the Williams of Alex Albon that he cut the Nouvelle Chicane to overtake, a decision he received a drive-through penalty for.

In the end Russell would cross the line in 11th while Antonelli was 18th. But at least Russell got a dinner out of it courtesy of Albon.

Goals for 2026

New rules, new opportunity – Mercedes will look to 2026 as the perfect chance to rediscover the dominance they enjoyed before the ground effect era arrived in 2022. After a relatively barren run of success since then, challenging for titles again is undoubtedly the goal in 2026.

Russell certainly sounded positive for what was to come after the team confirmed both he and Antonelli would be continuing as the Silver Arrows' drivers for the 2026 season. “I’m loyal to Mercedes, they’ve shown their loyalty in me, and I believe, going into 2026, Mercedes without a doubt is my best chance of winning a World Championship,” he said ahead of the United States Grand Prix.

“Maybe we’re wrong. Who knows? No one knows what will happen in 2026. But if I could have every single seat available to me, I would still choose Mercedes.”

As with any good storyline, the side plots might also be just as interesting as what happens on track. Look no further than this year’s Verstappen to Mercedes speculation, for example, which started to mount after Wolff said he had been having conversations with Verstappen about a drive for the Silver Arrows.

While Verstappen confirmed ahead of the summer break that he would be staying with Red Bull for 2026, and Mercedes went on to confirm Russell and Antonelli, if the Brackley-based squad hit the ground running next season that would make the Silver Arrows an enticing prospect for any driver seeking out success…