George Russell

Today’s race was a frustrating one. With the top six cars all finishing where they started, it was a Grand Prix dictated by yesterday’s qualifying performance. It was a relatively easy one-stop strategy and, on a circuit that is very difficult to overtake at, there were few opportunities to make forward progress. We tried our best to make the undercut work on Leclerc at the end of our first stint. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite have the pace to pull it off with the traffic that we had to clear in those two laps. Whatever strategy we had attempted though, I think we would have ultimately finished P5.

Our frustration mainly comes from the fact that we didn’t optimise qualifying yesterday. With the pace we showed over practice, we had a car that could have been competing for the front two rows of the grid. It is the first qualifying session of the year where we haven’t maximised our full potential. That was a shame, but we can bounce back straight away in Bahrain. It is a very different track to Suzuka, much hotter and a more abrasive circuit. It will be fascinating to see where everyone’s relative performance is and is going to be another test for everyone.
Kimi Antonelli

Today was a good race from my side. I am happy with how it went and the speed we were able to show. Once I got in free air, the pace really improved, and I was able to extend my stint on the Medium tyre. That was a good feeling. Once we switched to the Hard tyre, the car still felt positive. I was able to put in some consistent lap times. I was catching the cars ahead but ran out of time in the end to get on the back of them. It was also a nice feeling to lead the race for a few laps and become the youngest driver in F1 history to have done so. The next goal is to do that on the only lap that matters: the final one!

It has been a good weekend overall. It’s a great track and one that I felt that I was getting on top of by the end of the weekend. Every time I get in the car, I am building my learning and feeling more comfortable with the W16. I am looking forward to heading to Bahrain. Hopefully we can keep improving and begin to fight for some of the positions further forward than we managed today.
Bradley Lord, Team Representative

We come away from Japan with solid points but ultimately feeling that there was the potential for more this weekend. Suzuka is a difficult track to overtake at and today’s race was a good example of that. George looked to have the pace on the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in the opening stages but didn’t quite have enough speed to make a pass. Being in the dirty air likely hurt his tyres and he therefore couldn’t deploy the necessary pace to make the undercut work before his stop. The positive is that, had we started further forward and where we believed our qualifying pace was, we likely could have competed for the podium.

Kimi meanwhile ticked off several more milestones today. He has built his confidence over the weekend at a demanding track and achieved a solid result. He also led his first laps in F1 and took his maiden fastest lap, becoming the youngest driver in history to achieve these feats. His development is encouraging to see and it’s a third consecutive strong race performance from him.

We now head to Bahrain and will be aiming to be amongst the fight for the podium there. It is a very abrasive circuit and will be another good test of the progress we have made with the W16.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Today’s race was a case of what might have been for us as a team. We had shown promising pace all weekend, but Suzuka is a track that is heavily biased towards qualifying, rather than race pace. Failing to optimise our session yesterday therefore meant we knew we would be fighting an uphill battle to make significant progress today from P5 and P6. We had one eye on the weather this morning but ultimately it proved a dry Grand Prix, which limited opportunities.

The second limiting factor was the durability of the tyres, which made it a comfortable one-stop strategy for most. With George, having sat in the Ferrari’s dirty air for a good portion of his first stint, we attempted the undercut. We were close to making it work but just fell short. That left him running in a frustrating fifth to the flag.

Kimi meanwhile ran longer on his opening stint and then showed good pace in clean air to extend. That helped him not only cover the undercut from Lewis (Hamilton) but create a tyre offset to those ahead. He used that to close onto the back of George by the end of the race and take fastest lap in the process. It was another mature performance from Kimi as he continues to build his experience.

Bahrain is a very different type of circuit to those that we have raced at so far this season. The abrasive tarmac makes it a real challenge for the tyres, and it will be a good yardstick of the progress we have made with our car since last year. Hopefully we can put in a solid performance and be back in the fight for the podium once again.

George Russell

Firstly, it’s good to see that Jack (Doohan) was OK after his accident. That was a very big crash and hopefully he’ll be able to get back out in the car tomorrow morning.

From our side, we had a positive day. The car has been handling nicely, although we know the forecast wind change tomorrow will have an impact. McLaren once again looks very strong, and there were several other teams that were competitive on the single lap. It’s unusual to see so many teams so close together so we will have to be at our best to be competing near the front. If we do the job we know we can do though, I’m confident that we can be in the fight for the front two rows in Qualifying.

Given the interrupted FP2, we still have a few unknowns heading into the race on Sunday. We were only able to complete four laps on the Hard tyre. We therefore have little data to work with in terms of degradation, and any possible graining, on that compound. There is also a threat of rain for race day which could make things interesting. The important thing for Friday though is that we were competitive on the timing screens and that gives us a good platform to build on.
Kimi Antonelli

This is my first time at Suzuka and it’s an amazing track to drive! I enjoyed myself out there and I’m looking forward to building my confidence more and more as we head through the weekend. FP1 was a solid session for us, and I was able to put together some decent laps. FP2 was much more disrupted, and a little messy on my side. I wasn’t able to get a clean lap, and I didn’t get the most out of the car in sector one. We will work on that overnight, analyse the data, and come back stronger tomorrow.

There are definitely promising signs for us. George did a good job all day and was consistently near the front of the field. The balance of the car also feels good, and I know there is more that I can extract from it. I’m looking forward to getting back out there in FP3 and using that to build positively into Qualifying.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Today was a decent start to our Japanese Grand Prix weekend. We got a look at all three tyre compounds, evaluate the resurfaced first sector, and got a good read on the car balance. George was up to speed immediately and delivered some competitive lap times on the single lap in FP1 and had what looked like a solid long run. FP2 was a much more disrupted hour with four red flags so there wasn’t as much we could learn.

For Kimi, this is his first time in Suzuka. It's a track that requires commitment and confidence and he's been steadily building both through the day. No doubt he'll be able to make another step tomorrow and fingers cross we'll have a clean session without so many red flags in FP3.

The wind will turn through 180° for tomorrow which tends to have a big impact on the balance here, but we can assess that on the simulator overnight and look at any changes that are required to rebalance. Added to that, there is a risk of rain on Sunday. McLaren still look like the ones to beat but it's been an encouraging start to the weekend. Hopefully we'll be in a position to fight for the podium on Sunday.

An upcoming anniversary - 15 years of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing
25 September 2010: Thomas Jäger and Bernd Schneider (both GER) drove the Mercedes-AMG GT3 SLS in its first test race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife as part of the then VLN. This marked the start of the AMG Customer Racing Programme, in the development of which both drivers played a central role. The successor to the SLS, the Mercedes-AMG GT3, was presented in 2015, followed by a revised version in 2020. Additional racing cars made in Affalterbach expanded the portfolio, such as the Mercedes-AMG GT2, the Mercedes-AMG GT4 and the CLA 45 AMG Racing Series exclusively in Brazil. Today, almost 15 years later, Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing can look back on an impressive record: 14.356 race starts, 913 overall victories, over 2.000 class victories and 2.594 overall podiums, including outstanding successes at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring and Spa, the Bathurst 12 Hour, the IMSA and, last but not least, in the DTM. In this series, the brand with the three-pointed star is the most successful manufacturer with 12 drivers‘ and 15 manufacturers’ championships.

Final driver squad and planned programmes confirmed
Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing has completed its driver squad for this year's season and finalised the respective programmes. The performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach will field 14 drivers: eleven Mercedes-AMG Performance Drivers, two Mercedes-AMG Junior Drivers and one Mercedes-AMG Expert Driver. New to the line-up are Belgian Maxime Martin and Tom Kalender (GER) - who turns 17 tomorrow - as well as Australian Jayden Ojeda.

George Russell

When we are able to bring it all together, we can definitely compete right at the front. I’m therefore really pleased that we were able to qualify P2 and will start on the front-row tomorrow. I don’t think anybody expected to be challenging the McLarens, but I don’t think they optimised what they had today. P3 would have been a good result, so P2 is a great result. I’m proud of the whole team and the job they’ve done.

For the final lap in Q3, we tried a slightly different out lap preparation. We’d been trying a few different things throughout the session but on that last lap it finally clicked. I think that was one of my best qualifying efforts of my career and it was really rewarding to come away with a good starting position for the race. Tomorrow is a new day, and the Grand Prix will be dictated by race pace. Hopefully we can look after the tyres well, utilise the pace that is in the car, and come home with a strong result.
Kimi Antonelli

I am a little disappointed to qualify P8. We tried various out lap strategies, but it was a challenge to extract the best out of the tyre consistently. I had some good laps throughout the session but my two laps in Q3 weren’t my strongest. It is useful in helping me continue to build my learning and my knowledge though. It was definitely a good experience to have such a tricky Qualifying session, having to adapt every run to get the best from the tyres, and help me improve.

The positives we can take from today are that, when it’s hooked up, the car is feeling good. George definitely showed what was possible today. The pace is there to move forward tomorrow, and we will be looking to make up some positions across the Grand Prix.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

We were struggling to get the tyres in the right window throughout Qualifying. We kept at it though, worked as a team, and got it right at the end of the session. George was able to put the whole lap together and P2 was the result. It was a great effort and another calm and composed performance from him. For Kimi, he had good speed in Q3 but was unfortunate to lose time on his final lap in the last sector. Without that, he would have been challenging for the top six. Nevertheless, it is more valuable experience for him in what was his first Q3 appearance of his career.

Tomorrow’s race is set up to be very interesting. We expect the McLarens to be strong whilst the Ferraris were the stand-out in this morning’s Sprint. Starting from P2, we will be looking to hold our own in the early stages and see where we net out. Nobody has run the Hard compound tyre yet so that is an unknown going into Sunday. Let’s see what we can do.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Qualifying was a difficult session to manage. It was challenging to know exactly what the tyres needed to extract the maximum performance. We tried various out lap profiles but didn't manage to nail it in the first two segments of the session. We made a good step for Q3 though and George's final lap was very strong. That gave him P2 on tomorrow's grid. For Kimi, his first Q3 lap was deleted due to track limits. On his second and final effort, he lost a little bit of time in the final sector, but it was still a respectable effort, particularly given it was his first Q3 session of his F1 career. He will naturally be disappointed he's not starting a couple of positions further up, but he can look forward to an attacking race tomorrow.

We saw in this morning's Sprint that graining was perhaps even worse than most expected. Cars were having to manage heavily, and as soon as you pushed the tyre, it began to suffer. That is useful learning for tomorrow's Grand Prix where the finishing result is likely to be dictated by how well you are able to manage the tyres, particularly the front-left. Nobody has had any experience on the Hard compound so that is another unknown to throw into the mix. We will be looking to execute well and bring home another solid points haul, as we were able to do in the Sprint.

Toto Talks China

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

We now head to Shanghai and look forward to returning to China after what was a remarkable Grand Prix last year. You could sense the passion and energy from the fans as F1 returned to the country for the first time in five years. As the world's largest automotive market, and one of the world's biggest economies, China is crucial to the sport's global footprint. I am sure this year will see another great event.
Fact File: Chinese Grand Prix

    The Chinese Grand Prix returned to the calendar for the first time since 2019 in 2024, having first appeared on the F1 calendar in 2004.
    The 2019 race was also F1000, the 1000th Grand Prix since the official inception of the sport in 1950.
    The 5.451km layout features 16 turns (nine right, seven left). The racing lap record from the first race in 2004 still stands today, set by Michael Schumacher.
    Shanghai International Circuit holds special memories for our team too, having been the site of our first win since returning to the sport when Nico Rosberg triumphed in 2012.
    Our first F1 pole in the modern era also came at the track in 2012.
    In 2005, the circuit hosted the season finale for the one and only time.
    Having originally taken place towards the end of the F1 calendar, the race moved to a more permanent slot in the early stages of the season from 2009.
    In 2024, the Chinese Grand Prix saw more non-DRS-assisted overtakes (25) than any other race on the calendar, with the hairpin at the end of the long back straight a popular overtaking spot.
    The first seven Chinese Grand Prix were all won by different drivers.
    Mercedes claimed six consecutive pole positions at the track between 2012 and 2017
    Like 2024, Shanghai will also host the first F1 Sprint race weekend of the season.
    The circuit has been fully resurfaced ahead of this year’s event.
    With a podium finish on Sunday, the team can claim Mercedes-Benz’s 300th top three finish in F1 history.
    For 2025, China will host the first round of the F1 ACADEMY season. Mercedes Junior Driver Doriane Pin will represent the team in the series for a second campaign this season.