F1 | Ferrari-Mercedes fight for P2 heats up: Mercedes plans more updates. Mercedes confirms more W16 updates are coming in its tight fight with Ferrari for second.

Mercedes and Ferrari Continue Battle for Second in Constructors’ Championship as New Upgrades Are on the Way

The fight for second place in the 2025 Formula 1 Constructors’ World Championship between Scuderia Ferrari and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team remains very much alive. Andrew Shovlin, who serves as the Trackside Engineering Director for Mercedes, has confirmed that the Brackley-based outfit is preparing to introduce further updates to the W16 car.

At present, Scuderia Ferrari holds a very narrow lead in the standings with a total of 210 points. However, the Mercedes Formula 1 team is trailing by just a single point, sitting at 209 points. The extremely close gap between the two historic teams highlights the intensity of their ongoing competition, and the latest remarks from Andrew Shovlin make it clear that the battle is far from over.

In speaking about the current state of car development, Andrew Shovlin emphasized that the Mercedes W16 is still receiving attention and is not yet a completed project. He explained: “We have not yet finished the development of the W16. There are still some new components and innovations on the way. Naturally, with the upcoming regulation changes set for next season, our focus has begun shifting toward the 2026 car, the W17. We are working to ensure that the next car is competitive and strong. But at the same time, there is still a significant amount of performance that we can extract from this current W16 chassis.”

This statement underlines Mercedes’ strategy of managing both short-term competitiveness and long-term preparation, a balancing act crucial in modern Formula 1. Andrew Shovlin further added: “The best place to learn is always the racetrack. That’s where we can truly evaluate whether we are heading in the right direction or if we have taken a wrong path. So we are mainly focusing on elements that can bring performance gains this year and that will also provide us with valuable data and insights for the 2026 season under the new regulations.”

While the McLaren Formula 1 team appears to have established itself firmly at the top of the Constructors’ Championship standings, the real battle for second place is now clearly between Scuderia Ferrari, based in Maranello, and the Mercedes team, headquartered in Brackley. With only one point separating them, the contest for P2 is expected to remain undecided until the final race of the season—especially if Mercedes’ planned updates deliver improvements in critical areas such as heat management and tire degradation under high temperatures.

“In short, we are not done yet,” concluded Andrew Shovlin. “There will be more updates coming during the summer break, and we will continue pushing hard on this car to try and score strong results through to the end of the season.”

This is a clear and direct message to Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur: Mercedes is still fully committed to mounting a comeback and intends to fight on every circuit of the calendar. The battle for second place in the 2025 Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship is set to remain thrilling, with each new technical upgrade potentially shifting the balance.