Mercedes raised a few eyebrows when it accelerated its young talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli to make his Formula One debut replacing Lewis Hamilton. For a teenager who only took his first steps in single-seater racing in 2021 and skipped the F3 class entirely, there is no greater challenge than to represent a top team and succeed the seven-time world champion – even if Mercedes is keen to lower expectations for the 19-year-old.
It was a huge bonus for Antonelli and Mercedes when the Italian finished fourth on his debut in Melbourne, followed by sixth in China and pole position in the Miami Sprint. But when F1 returned to Europe and Mercedes introduced an unsuccessful suspension update that derailed both Antonelli and ambitious team-mate George Russell, Antonelli’s youthful inexperience really caught up with him. While Russell was experienced enough to handle the setback, it left Antonelli in a tailspin.
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The ill-fated Imola update coincides with a home debut for Antonelli, who hails from nearby Bologna and he admits that one of the features of a busy European paddock is that he is feeling exhausted by the increased attention and scrutiny.
“I’ve had a very long, difficult time in Europe,” Antonelli told Motorsport.com in Abu Dhabi when asked about the many ups and downs he’s experienced in 2025. “I even started to doubt myself and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get away from it.
“During that difficult period, I kind of lost my bearings. There was a lot of frustration and I started thinking too much about the end result. Every time I got in the car, I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and not focusing on driving well.”
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Monza weekend proves to be a tough one
Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Monza weekend proves to be a tough one
Mercedes chief executive Toto Wolff has had to show tough love at times, especially after a poor weekend at Monza where Antonelli crashed in FP2 and then looked too scared to make another mistake and was well below the limit. Antonelli revealed that he told himself to “reset and start from scratch” after a post-race debriefing with Wolff and race engineer Pete Bonnington in Italy.
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By that stage, however, a maiden podium finish in Canada was just one of several hallmarks of Antonelli’s class – too many to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Antonelli did bounce back from Baku and as Mercedes’ performance stabilized, so did Antonelli’s rookie season, starting to deliver cleaner weekends and starting to score big points. He achieved his best ever result in Brazil, finishing second behind Lando Norris, and a McLaren disqualification in Las Vegas bumped him up to third in the Grand Prix.
If 2025 is a crash course for Antonelli on how to become a well-rounded F1 driver, in time for the start of the 2026 rules era, one can consider it mission accomplished.
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Also read:
F1 2025 review: Nico Hulkenberg takes podium in best feel-good moment
F1 2025 review: Max Verstappen had best season despite titleless
F1 2025 review: George Russell navigates tricky Mercedes to become best of the rest
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