MADRID — Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has declared that pole position is firmly within the team’s reach ahead of this afternoon’s qualifying session at the Madrid circuit, though he remains wary of the razor-thin margins defining the weekend so far.
The Silver Arrows have dominated the practice sessions, with George Russell topping FP1, Kimi Antonelli leading FP2, and the young Italian sensation once again setting the pace in the final practice session. Antonelli’s 1:32.797 set the benchmark in FP3, narrowly leading a tightly bunched field that saw four drivers from four different constructors separated by less than a quarter of a second. Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, and Lando Norris remain within striking distance, setting the stage for what promises to be an unpredictable qualifying battle.
Speaking to Sky Sports following the conclusion of FP3, Wolff emphasized that while the team’s pace is strong, the inherent risks of the new street circuit could easily derail their ambitions. “Nobody really knows what to expect,” Wolff admitted. “The session was tight. It’s about putting a lap together without mistakes and traffic. It’s going to be interesting to see the situation in Q1 with all of the cars on track. And then also in Q3, you have to decide whether to put the lap in early to avoid the risk of a yellow or red flag.”
One of the technical challenges Mercedes is navigating is tyre preparation. Wolff noted that the W17 has struggled to extract maximum performance on the initial flying lap, finding more speed on the second attempt. “On the soft tyre, we seem to struggle more on the first lap,” the Austrian explained. “We’re running maybe a bit hotter than we want to, but the second lap has generally been the quicker one. It seems like some of our competitors are showing a similar pattern.”
Despite the technical hurdles, Wolff confirmed that both drivers are enjoying the technical challenges of the new Madrid layout. However, he warned that the high-stakes nature of the circuit means there is no margin for error. With overtaking anticipated to be notoriously difficult on this track, track position is paramount; a mistake in qualifying is likely to be a race-ending blunder.
“If we put it all together, we fight for pole and the front row,” Wolff said. “But it could be a little bit of yo-yoing. It could be all within a tenth, so you could be on the good side of it or the wrong side.”
As the teams head into the final hours before the session, the paddock remains on edge. With the competition separated by mere thousandths, qualifying in Madrid is set to be a tactical chess match where composure will be as vital as raw speed.
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