The moment Mercedes’ glorious F1 comeback started? How about their lowest-ever ebb

“One of my worst days in racing,” proclaimed an aghast Toto Wolff . The scene is the paddock at the Bahrain International Circuit, the date is March 2023 and the occasion is the aftermath of the season-opening Formula 1 race. Mercedes have just finished more than 50 seconds off the pace set by winner Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Lewis Hamilton in fifth and George Russell in seventh. Behind three other cars, the former untouchable giants of Formula 1 are, clearly, the fourth-quickest car on the grid . And in that moment, Wolff realises that – once again – he and his team of engineers and car designers back at their Brackley base have got it badly wrong. It’s worth revisiting the Silver Arrows at their lowest ebb as we revert back to the present day. On Sunday, Mercedes claimed the F1 constructors’ crown for the first time in five years, a week on from their first drivers’ world championship in six years. It is a ninth teams’ title for Mercedes, putting them level with Williams and placing them one behind McLaren on the all-time list. For Wolff, too, it puts him level with Frank Williams for the most titles for a team boss in F1 history. Not bad, then, given the desperate doldrums the Austrian executive found himself in nearly four years ago. That day in Bahrain marked the start of this new era. A year earlier, amid the new ground-effect rule change off the back of that 2021 decider in Abu Dhabi , Mercedes’ zero-sidepod design caught the attention of everyone up and down the pit-lane. And yet, as action began on the track, not only were they short of top-table pace, but their car was violently oscillating in a phenomenon called “porpoising” that nobody at HQ had envisaged. So much so that, after one race in Baku, Hamilton struggled to disembark the cockpit, such was the pain in his back. But Russell’s inaugural victory in Formula 1 at Interlagos – Mercedes’ first win of the 2022 season, on a weekend where they claimed a one-two finish – presented a lifeline. Or so they thought at the time. Wolff has since acknowledged that it was that win which pushed Mercedes to continue down the zero-sidepod path. In a holistic game of stick-and-twist – with a rule phase not ending until 2026 – the three-pronged star decided to stick. It would prove to be a foolhardy decision. Despite seven grands prix triumphs between 2023-2025, Mercedes were still someway short of their competitors: first Red Bull, then McLaren. The three years since were something of a purgatory for Wolff who, to his credit, has never been one for hiding his emotions or ducking out of camera range in the garage, often to the detriment of a nearby headset. "Looking back in retrospect, you're saying, 'we needed these tough moments in order to grow as people or to grow as an organisation’ – but when you're down, that is quite difficult to feel,” he said on Sunday night, another constructors’ title in his back pocket. "I think those last four years were very difficult between getting it wrong, then kind of understanding why it was wrong and then realising no we didn't understand. That was a bit back and forth. "But we will be looking back in 10 or 20 years. When you look at the statistics, it wasn't that we were complete losers over those four years, because we finished second, (second), third, fourth [in the championship], we won races, won many races. Most constructors’ titles in F1 history 1) Ferrari - 16 2) McLaren - 10 3) Williams, Mercedes - 9 4) Lotus - 7 5) Red Bull - 6 6) Cooper, Brabham, Renault - 2 7) Vanwall, BRM, Matra, Tyrrell, Benetton, Brawn - 1 “So it wasn't that bad at all when you look at the sheer numbers, but it felt not good." The start of 2023 also marked when Red Bull announced their engine partnership with Ford for 2026. Some engineers jumped ship from Brackley to Milton Keynes but a radically different regulation change allowed Mercedes to use their power unit proficiency to its fullest. And not unlike the start of the hybrid era in 2014, they have started out all guns blazing. While the surprise package of the season has been Kimi Antonelli ’s ascent to world champion (one of Wolff’s greatest-ever calls ) over the experienced nous of Russell, Mercedes’ overall dominance – not complete dominance, given the multiple race victories for Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren – has given them an unassailable lead with three rounds and 150 points left on the table. Russell, however, was keen to stress the strange anomaly as dozens of Mercedes personnel celebrated on the podium in Sao Paulo, long after the actual top-three podium had concluded. Brazil had, actually, marked the first time all season a Mercedes driver had not finished on the podium. “We would have liked to have done it in a bit more style,” he said. “But it's an incredible achievement for everyone in the team.” Maybe Mercedes won’t have it as easy as they had it a decade ago. The road to the 2027 opener, back in Bahrain next March, starts now.