Antonelli suspects his "aggressive driving style exacerbated" Mercedes' technical struggles
Having struggled to achieve consistency during the European leg of the his debute F1 season, Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli suspects his "aggressive driving style exacerbated" Mercedes' technical struggles
On the back of a strong performance in Formula 2 last year, Andrea Kimi Antonelli signed for Mercedes in 2025, replacing Lewis Hamilton to partner George Russell on a one-year contract.
With his debut at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, he became the first Italian driver to compete in Formula One since Antonio Giovinazzi in 2021, the first Mercedes rookie since 1954, as well as the third-youngest driver in Formula One history at 18 years and 203 days old.
The Bologna-born driver showed great race pace in the early races, finishing in the points-paying position in four of the first five races. He then went on to claim pole position for the Miami Grand Prix Sprint, albeit dropped to seventh in wet conditions after a first-corner incident with Oscar Piastri and a pit lane collision with Max Verstappen.
When the F1 field arrived in Europe, Antonelli struggled to keep his consistency. The Italian finished outside the points in five of the following six races before finishing in tenth place at the Hungarian Grand Prix to collect a championship point.
Following a run of tough races in Spielberg, Barcelona, Silverstone and Spa, Mercedes elected to revert to an older-spec suspension layout to find out the exact cause of its technical issues
In conversation with the respected F1 journalist Michael Schmidt, Antonelli noted: "We suspected the new rear axle. It was first used in Imola, and since then, I've felt like I was driving a different car. I'd lost confidence. The old rear suspension came back for two races, and I immediately felt better.
"The same thing happened in Budapest. As soon as the old suspension was back in the car, my confidence returned. Qualifying didn't go as planned, but the race showed that I feel more comfortable again. I I drove on one set of tires and defended the last point against cars that had tires with better grip at the time.
Mercedes debuted the new suspension at Imola, but it returned to the older configuration for the next two races before using the upgraded suspension again at Montreal. Asked how Mercedes could clinch a double podium finish - the victory and a third-place finish - at the Canadian Grand Prix despite running the new suspension, Antonelli said it was down to the unique characteristics of the Montreal circuit.
"It's due to the track. In Montreal, you brake straight ahead into the corners. Then you just have to find the right turn-in point to accelerate out of the corner optimally.
"Our car is good at that. But as soon as we returned to the European tracks, the problem we first experienced in Imola caught up with us again. When turning in fast corners on the brakes, the rear end became unstable, and it was difficult to feel whether the grip was losing or not.
"My aggressive driving style had exacerbated this problem. The car became even more unpredictable. But I also have to take responsibility for myself and should have adjusted my driving style better," concluded the Italian.
