Mercedes admit Zandvoort mystery as W17 loses high-speed performance against McLaren – Mercedes left the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix with a major championship points haul, but the team admits it still does not understand why the W17 struggled so badly through Zandvoort’s high-speed corners.
Kimi Antonelli finished second and George Russell third at Zandvoort, while Russell had already secured victory in Saturday’s Sprint. The result nevertheless came after Mercedes appeared to lose ground to McLaren over the full Grand Prix distance, with Lando Norris eventually winning by 11.536 seconds.
Mercedes Deputy Team Principal Bradley Lord and Race Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin subsequently highlighted several areas requiring investigation, particularly the car’s inconsistent balance and its weakness through Turns 7, 8 and 9.
Mercedes satisfied with points despite losing performance edge
The double podium represented an important result for Mercedes, even though the team no longer appeared to have the outright fastest package.
“On Sunday evening at the airport we reflected on a weekend in which, unusually for this season, we didn’t have the fastest car and were slightly on the defensive,” Lord said.
“Yet, adding up the points, it was our second-best haul of the season. We didn’t win the Grand Prix, McLaren was quicker and Ferrari looked strong at various points, but we still extended our lead in the Constructors’ Championship. Beneath the surface of two consecutive winless races, there is a positive story for the championship.”
The result left Mercedes firmly in control of the Constructors’ Championship, despite McLaren taking its second consecutive Grand Prix victory. Norris’s win followed his success at the previous race in Hungary.
However, the performance gap has raised questions about whether McLaren’s recent development programme is beginning to shift the competitive order.
W17 weakness through Zandvoort’s fast corners
One of Mercedes’ biggest concerns was the car’s performance through the fast sequence of Turns 7, 8 and 9.
“The McLaren was much quicker in the Grand Prix than the Sprint, and that was difficult to predict,” Lord explained.
“In the second half of the race, and certainly during Kimi’s second stint on the hard tyre, it became clear that maintaining the lead would be very difficult. His performance dropped off and he became much less comfortable with the balance of the car.”
Shovlin identified an even more specific problem.
“We were particularly weak in Turns 7, 8 and 9. That fast sequence puts prolonged stress on the left-hand tyres and we still don’t fully understand why we struggled there.”
He added: “We have some ideas, but it’s not an issue we’ve encountered elsewhere this year.”
Mercedes made some progress in that section for qualifying, but Shovlin said the improvement came at a cost elsewhere on the circuit.
The inconsistency was also evident between the two drivers. George Russell reportedly suffered from understeer while Antonelli experienced oversteer by the end of the race, despite Mercedes not making major changes to electronic settings or wing levels.
“The two drivers even finished with opposite characteristics: George suffered from understeer and Kimi from oversteer. We need to understand why there was such a marked difference.”
Mercedes studying McLaren’s development advantage
Mercedes is also trying to establish whether McLaren’s advantage at Zandvoort represents a genuine shift or simply reflects the timing of each team’s development programme.
“In Hungary we were probably close to McLaren in terms of overall race pace, while in Zandvoort we were slightly behind,” Lord said.
“We need to establish whether this gap is destined to widen or whether, as we believe, it reflects the different timing of our development programmes.”
“For the next races we will have to maximise the package available, taking care of every single detail before the next update package brings a further leap in performance.”
That will be particularly important with the championship entering the final phase of the European season. The next race is the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on September 4-6.
Mercedes defend Russell and Antonelli strategy
Mercedes also faced scrutiny over its strategy during the closing stages, particularly after Antonelli made a pit stop under the Virtual Safety Car and subsequently swapped positions with Russell.
Lord explained that stopping Russell at the same time would have cost him his podium position to Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari.
“Kimi took the opportunity to make a free pit stop under the Virtual Safety Car. If George had made the same stop, he would have slipped behind the Ferrari, losing his podium position,” Lord said.
“We were very clear in the strategy briefing on Sunday morning: the group was too compact for our drivers to waste time fighting among themselves.”
Russell questioned the order over the radio, but ultimately followed it. Mercedes’ decision proved successful as he held third place to the chequered flag, finishing just 0.849 seconds ahead of Hamilton.
Russell’s recovery after early-season problems
Shovlin also praised Russell’s response after technical problems had affected his performance earlier in the season.
“George had a lot to deal with towards the end of the first half of the season, including some issues that arose on our end,” he said.
“In several races a Power Unit issue cost him straight-line speed, which was understandably frustrating as we worked to pinpoint the cause.”
Mercedes eventually identified and resolved the problem before the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“It took a thorough investigation, but we understood the problem and resolved it before Budapest, where he had a more solid weekend. At Zandvoort he won the Sprint race and performed very well throughout the event,” Shovlin added.
“We hope he can carry this form into the second phase of the championship.”
Russell’s Sprint victory and Sunday podium underline that Mercedes remains a formidable force in 2026. However, the unexplained weakness through Zandvoort’s high-speed corners gives the team another technical puzzle to solve before Monza.
Would you like to see more TJ13 Formula 1 coverage? Add us to your favourites list on Google to receive trusted F1 news.
Craig Alderson is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Craig oversees newsroom operations and coordinates editorial output across the site. With a background in online sports reporting and motorsport magazine editing, he plays a key role in maintaining consistency, speed, and accuracy in TJ13’s coverage.
During race weekends, Craig acts as desk lead, directing contributors, prioritising breaking stories, and ensuring timely publication across a fast-moving news cycle.
Craig’s work focuses heavily on real-time developments in the paddock, including team updates, regulatory decisions, and emerging controversies. This role requires a detailed understanding of Formula 1’s operational flow, from practice sessions through to race-day strategy and post-race fallout.
With experience managing editorial teams, Craig ensures that TJ13 delivers structured, reliable coverage while maintaining the site’s distinctive voice.
Craig has a particular interest in how information moves within the paddock environment, and how rapidly developing stories can be accurately translated into clear, accessible reporting for readers.
Thiago Treze is a Brazilian motorsport writer at TJ13 with a background in sports journalism and broadcast media, alongside an academic foundation in engineering with a focus on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This combination of technical knowledge and editorial experience allows Thiago to approach Formula 1 from both a performance and narrative perspective.
At TJ13, Treze covers driver performance, career developments, and key storylines across the Formula 1 grid, while also analysing the technical factors that influence competitiveness. This includes aerodynamic development trends, simulation-driven design approaches, and the engineering decisions that shape race weekend outcomes.
His reporting bridges the gap between human performance and machine development, helping readers understand how driver execution and technical innovation interact in modern Formula 1. Coverage often connects on-track events with the underlying engineering philosophies that define each team’s approach.
With a global perspective shaped by both journalism and technical study, Thiago also focuses on Formula 1’s international reach and the different ways the sport is experienced across regions.
Treze has a particular interest in how Computational Fluid Dynamics and aerodynamic modelling contribute to car performance, offering accessible explanations of complex technical concepts within Formula 1.
