Mercedes is experiencing its worst start to a Formula 1 season in more than 10 years, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell taking 64 points from the first six rounds of the year.
Not since 2012 has Brackley started the year so slowly. To further exacerbate its poor form, it was the comparison year before the fastest lap points and weekends were introduced.
Therefore, 36 fewer points are on offer compared to 2024 – a maximum of 15 points per team in each of the two pace rounds so far this season, and six points possible for the fastest lap.
Mercedes has struggled to get to grips with contemporary ground effects in Formula 1, and after dominating the championship between 2014 and 2021, it has only achieved one grand prix win since the latest regulations were introduced in 2022.
Unable to change its form, the eight-time constructors' champion is starting to resemble the team it was between 2010 and 2013.
In 2012, at the hands of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, the team went on to score a total of 142 points in the Constructors' Championship – its lowest tally since returning to Formula 1.
In the previous season, the duo started the season worse, with just 40 points from the first six rounds, but finished the year with a better points total of 165.
In what could be a bad omen for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, in 2012 Mercedes continued to finish fifth in the constructors' standings.
Although Rosberg won in China that year, which was a first for the German brand in modern Formula 1, the team was unable to compete with Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren – as these three teams continued to lead the standings at the end of the season.
In Round 7, Rosberg took sixth place and eight points while teammate Schumacher retired, meaning Hamilton and Russell must pick up six points at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in order to prevent a slide into Mercedes' worst start to a Formula 1 season since 2011. .
