Ralf Schumacher warns Mercedes still has “reserves left” despite McLaren’s 2026 F1 progress

Ralf Schumacher believes McLaren’s progress could make Formula 1 more competitive, but warns Mercedes still has untapped pace

Ralf Schumacher has championed McLaren for making a step forward. While the former driver is confident this will lead to more exciting racing, he added that Mercedes likely has performance left in the tank.

Mercedes has had a strong start to the season. This has led to concerns from fans that the Brackley outfit could dominate the year, leading to a repeat of previous predictable seasons such as 2023, when Red Bull dominated.

"McLaren has also taken a step forward, so it looks like things could become more exciting," Schumacher told Sky Sports Germany.

"It is definitely an indicator of what everyone has been saying: teams are still learning, learning, learning how to deal with the flood of data.

"And it will likely get even closer from here on, because development will really start to ramp up now, and there is always the necessary chase.

"Nevertheless, I believe that Mercedes still has a few reserves left."

After George Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix from pole for Mercedes, the team also won the Chinese sprint race thanks to the Briton. His team-mate, Kimi Antonelli, secured pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Anni Graf - Formula 1 via Getty Images

"Many said the kid was too young, the kid was too young to be in a Mercedes, you should have prepared him otherwise, and the kid did good," Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff told Sky Sports F1 after Antonelli beat Sebastian Vettel's record, becoming the youngest polesitter for a grand prix.

"The youngest polesitter, I think, I just heard."

He added: "I'm so happy for Kimi to be on pole. But obviously, if the kit lets the driver down, like on George's side, you want to see them head-to-head and see what they can do. So it's a shame that George couldn't be in the lap."

Russell will start second on the grid in Shanghai beside his team-mate.