Mercedes top executive Bradley Lord reveals his team’s further plan of action for the rest of the 2026 season. The Silver Arrows start the summer break as championship leaders in an excellent way, but according to Lord, it is only the calm before the storm: ‘The tough part begins in many ways only after the break’.
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Mercedes has started the summer break in the best possible position: the team leads both the drivers’ championship, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and the constructors’ championship. In eight of the eleven Grands Prix this year, it was also a Mercedes driver who stood on the top step of the podium. Yet the team remains cautious.
“We have had an excellent first half of the season, with eight wins out of eleven races,” reflects deputy team principal Bradley Lord in the Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show. “There have been setbacks and difficult moments, but that is part and parcel of Formula 1. It is an incredibly demanding sport.”
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Calm before the storm
For Lord, however, the summer break is not so much a moment of rest as the calm before the storm. “I think it is important to stay calm for the championship,” he emphasizes. “We are only halfway through the season and the tough part begins in many ways only after the break. That is when the pressure starts to increase. The number of races decreases, the series of overseas races becomes more intense, and the team is away from the factory for a longer period.”
“At the same time, you continue to develop the car and implement upgrades while being active on the other side of the world,” Lord continues. “That inevitably makes it a lot more complicated.” According to the deputy director, the key to success is to remain calm and disciplined as a team even under these circumstances: “It is not about working at a frantic pace. It is about every decision being well considered and every step forward being well planned.”
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