Overview
- Mercedes has opened the new rules era with three straight poles, three 1-2 starts, and three wins, and Toto Wolff urged respect for both traditionalist critics and fans who enjoy the more electrified racing.
- Red Bull’s RB22 has pace on the straights but struggles for grip in corners, the team is navigating exits of key figures including race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to McLaren from 2028, Jos Verstappen said he expects Max to continue beyond 2028, and boss Laurent Mekies praised rookie Isack Hadjar’s early speed.
- McLaren’s start has been hampered by repeated reliability failures that wiped out points chances in China and limited pace in Japan, and the team is targeting a major upgrade package for Miami after the April break.
- Williams hired long‑time Mercedes engineer Dan Milner as chief of single‑seater technology to fix an overweight, slow FW48, and team principal James Vowles signaled meaningful gains are more likely in the second half of the season.
- Cadillac has improved reliability and now finishes races, and Sergio Pérez said the next step is to win the in‑season development race against established midfield teams, while Aston Martin’s stop‑start running and ERS and balance issues drew sharp criticism from Jolyon Palmer.