Mercedes entered the season with pole dominance but repeatedly lost ground at the start, never leading after the first lap until Canada. The problem surfaced with rookie Kimi Antonelli, who slipped back on multiple occasions despite the team's front‑row advantage. Engineers traced the issue to a bulky turbo, a heavier rear axle and inconsistent launch software, leaving the Woking outfit vulnerable against rivals like McLaren.

McLaren’s advantage stems from an in‑house gearbox and shorter gear ratios, a philosophy Andrea Stella says yields stronger off‑the‑line acceleration. Mercedes starts varied wildly: a single‑position loss in some races versus a three‑place drop in others, highlighted by testing woes in Bahrain in early 2024. Missteps also arose from human error—flat batteries, wrong tyre‑warming burns and mismatched grip maps—all compounding the launch deficit.

To close the gap, the team overhauled launch software and gave Antonelli a redesigned clutch lever with revised finger housing for finer release control. Antonelli confirmed the tweak during free practice, noting steadier starts. In Canada’s sprint, George Russell delivered a textbook launch, suggesting the fixes are paying off, while race conditions still tested consistency.