Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has explained his team’s massive advantage over the rest of the Formula 1 field at the Chinese Grand Prix.
George Russell headed team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli as Mercedes once again dominated qualifying to claim another front-row lockout, this time for the sprint race in China.
Russell outpaced Antonelli by 0.289 seconds, while the Silver Arrows enjoyed a huge 0.621-second gap to the nearest non-Mercedes, the McLaren of reigning world champion Lando Norris.
Mercedes’ rivals have pointed to the German manufacturer’s engine as being key to its early supremacy in 2026, but team principal Wolff insists his side’s performance is not just coming from the power unit.
“We’ve seen in the past teams that have said that we concentrate everything into the next year and then it failed,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1.
“I remember the BMW days where they could have competed for a championship, and then came around with a double diffuser the following year and they left.
“We put a lot of effort into the into the ’26 car, maybe a bit earlier than some of the others. But I’m really happy the integration of power unit and chassis works well.
“You can see Ferrari, which is an integrated structure and Audi also as a works team that has certain advantages because you learn early.
“What I’m really pleased with is how the car drives. You see the onboard, the car’s on rails, and most of the lap time gain that we have is in the corners.”
Speaking to Sky Germany, Wolff expanded on the W17’s cornering strengths.
“I think our big advantage here is mainly in the corners,” Wolff said.
“You can see it in certain cases: [Pierre] Gasly, for example, was the fastest on the straights, but our advantage comes in the corners.”
Mercedes is gaining on its rivals in the corners, Wolff claims
Wolff said he expects McLaren, who completed a world championship double in 2025, will catch Mercedes back up.
“Everybody has a different concept and with the McLaren, without going into the detail, they have taken some decisions that are very different to ours when it comes to, for example, gear ratios,” he said.
“That could have been good or could have been bad. But it’s a brand-new car.
“It is the works teams that have their nose ahead but it’s just a matter of time. You see what the others are doing, you have the exact same hardware, you have the exact same software, but in that case how do you simulate it best?
“I have no doubt that McLaren are a formidable structure that it’s not long before they are going to be part of the fight at the front.”
Russell finds new Mercedes a ‘joy to drive’
After clinching the first sprint pole of his F1 career, Russell labeled Mercedes’ 2026 challenger as a “joy to drive”.
“The car’s been feeling amazing – we knew after Melbourne we had a really good car, the engine’s performing really well, and today was a real joy to drive, so [I’m] happy,” the 28-year-old Briton said.
“I’m intrigued to know what the lap times are compared to last year, because it felt really quick and that was pretty cool, very different to Melbourne.”
With attention turning to Saturday’s sprint race, Russell revealed Mercedes have been working to improve its starts.
Both Mercedes got away slowly at last weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, as Russell lost the lead to the fast-starting Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
“Since Melbourne, everything we’ve been working [on] is just trying to get off the line better, what we can do [there],” he added. “I think we’ve found some improvements.
“Melbourne was obviously slightly dicier in the opening laps than we would have liked, but I guess we’ll find out in the morning.”
