Mercedes no longer have the fastest car in F1, says leader Antonelli

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkItalian driver of Mercedes Kimi Antonelli finished second at the Dutch Grand Prix [File: John Thys/AFP]By AP and ReutersPublished On 24 Aug 202624 Aug 2026McLaren have taken a big step forward and Mercedes no longer have the quickest car in Formula One, championship leader Kimi Antonelli said after the Dutch Grand Prix.McLaren’s reigning champion Lando Norris celebrated his second win in a row from pole position at Zandvoort on Sunday, with Antonelli and Mercedes teammate George Russell finishing second and third, ahead of Ferrari pair Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4‘Simply lovely’: Verstappen extends with F1 Red Bull Racing until 2030list 2 of 4Norris finally wins a race in 2026 with Hungarian Grand Prix triumphlist 3 of 4Formula One returns to Malaysia as Sepang circuit hosts Bahrain Grand Prixlist 4 of 4F1 needs better balance between business and sport, says Norrisend of list“We’re clearly not the fastest car any more on the grid,” said Antonelli, who won five races in a row earlier in the season.“We’re probably second or third, at least in today’s race, and McLaren has taken a huge step, especially since Hungary, since the big upgrade package they brought.”However, Norris, who lost out to Antonelli at the race restart and then had to overtake him on track, questioned that assertion.“I don’t think it’s true. I think if I didn’t get Kimi when I overtook him, I don’t think I would have won the race,” he said.“For once, I would give myself a little bit of credit that I feel like I’m doing a better job than everyone, and I think that can also make a difference.“We certainly have a car now capable of beating them … but I think they have a better all-round performing car than what we do.”Zandvoort, and Budapest’s Hungaroring before that, played to McLaren’s strengths but some of the tracks coming up may be less favourable.Ferrari can be expected to go well at their home Grand Prix at Monza early next month, with upgrades in the pipeline, while Antonelli faces hefty grid penalties for an engine change.Zandvoort and Budapest’s Hungaroring before that played to McLaren’s strengths, but some of the tracks coming up may be less favourable [Patrick Post/AP Photo]A tougher rideMercedes are still way ahead of Ferrari and McLaren in the constructors’ championship and scored more points – 46 to McLaren’s 43 and Ferrari’s 31 – than anyone else over the weekend.“We have a strong car in certain areas. It’s not like last year where we were pretty good everywhere,” said Norris.“We’re very, very strong in high speed, and that’s the place we’ve improved the car the most, is high-speed performance. No one matches us in high speed, and that’s a good thing.“But the advantage that they [Mercedes] have to us in slow speed is also crazy. And therefore, I don’t have the confidence to say ‘yeah, I can easily fight for a championship for the rest of the season’.”“I know I’ve just won two races in a row and had two poles in a row, but at the minute I don’t have the car I need to fight for a championship,” added the Briton, who is 83 points behind Antonelli, with 11 rounds remaining unless the situation in the Middle East forces a calendar change.Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said cost cap restrictions meant Mercedes did not have the money to implement developments on the car as quickly as they might want.“We are trying to evenly split that through the season based on our calculations of when we can bring the biggest updates and optimising the championship points,” he told reporters.“So the ride has been a bit tougher than at the beginning of the year.”McLaren principal Andrea Stella said he expected Mercedes to accelerate their car’s development regardless.“I’m sure their car in the wind tunnel is quite a bit faster than the car they have on track,” said the Italian.“And they will want to now convert some of this potential into upgrades that make it to the real car. I’m just pretty sure that they will have upgrades.” Antonelli will take grid penalty at home raceAntonelli, who turns 20 on Tuesday, faces another obstacle in his quest to become F1’s youngest-ever champion.He will need to take a hefty grid penalty at his home Italian Grand Prix in two weeks as Mercedes plan to swap his car’s power unit to head off potential reliability problems in the second half of the season. That will put Antonelli over his allowance of key components for the year.“Our theory, our calculations say that that’s the best track to take it. Obviously, our algorithms don’t take the nationality into consideration,” Wolff said. “We’re here to fight for a championship and not the most PR, so that’s what we’re going to do.”Monza is a high-speed track where the Mercedes engine is likely to be strong, and overtaking is relatively easy, giving Antonelli a chance to make up places. He has accepted the decision.“I think it still will give me a chance to do a great result and bring home good points,” he said.