Hamilton Reclaims Crown With Stunning F1 Return!
Strong starts and close battles have defined Ferrari’s beginning to the season, but the data from China raises questions: could Mercedes actually be more dominant than ever?
Motorsport photo After two grands prix and one sprint race in the 2026 Formula 1 season, Mercedes has won every single event so far. However, those victories were not quite as effortless as the results might suggest. In all three races, the Silver Arrows had to defend seriously against Ferrari .
In particular, Ferrari’s strong race starts allowed the Scuderia to take the lead initially on each occasion. So far, though, Ferrari has been unable to convert those moments into a race win, because Mercedes still possesses the faster overall package. The key question therefore is: how close is Ferrari actually to its first grand prix victory of the season – and is the team a genuine contender in the fight for the world championship?
Read Also: F1 Chinese GP: Kimi Antonelli takes maiden win as Lewis Hamilton scores first Ferrari podium Where Ferrari is losing time to Mercedes A look at the data provides some first clues. At the season opener in Australia, Ferrari was 0. 809 seconds behind Mercedes’ pole position time in qualifying.
In Shanghai, that gap shrank to “only” 0. 351 seconds. The main reason lies in energy management: in Melbourne, this factor played a much bigger role, allowing the Mercedes power unit to exploit its advantage more strongly.
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