Overview

• The rear suspension upgrade introduced at Imola was permanently removed after it caused unpredictable rear instability across high-speed tracks.
• George Russell and Kimi Antonelli said the tweak sapped their confidence by making the W16 harder to drive at the limit.
• Toto Wolff acknowledged that misleading data from simulations and lab tests delayed the decision to roll back the component.
• Switching back to the original suspension unlocked Mercedes’ strongest race pace this season outside of Canada, as Russell secured third place in Hungary.
• The team has confirmed no further developments for the W16 and is fully redirecting its engineering efforts toward the 2026 car.