Who slept best last night: Kimi Antonelli

Rebecca French

4 hours ago

Well, in China he only had George Russell to beat – and George had problems in qualifying. Of course, this victory was not a gift to Kimi Antonelli – however, when the Silver Arrows dominate by such a large margin and their teammates face some adversity, a driver from a top team should be able to take advantage of an opportunity like this, right?

Japan was a different story entirely, with a timely safety car. Had Antonelli not emerged so conveniently in a difficult race after a poor start, he would not have led the championship behind Suzuka. Yes, he made the most of the opportunity, too, and looked very convincing in the final parts of the game – though there was plenty for the naysayers to latch on to and for the doubters to wonder.

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A bit of luck, clearly the best car on the circuit, and a bit of misfortune for Russell – and you’ve got enough factors to downplay Antonelli’s victory in Asia in March.

It’s hard to fault his performance in Miami, though. With McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull arriving in the US with significant upgrades, Russell no longer appears to be Antonelli’s main challenger. What’s more, the Italian not only outperformed his teammate all weekend, but also took a huge lead.

Remember when George was almost unquestionably considered the favorite before the season? Well, if anyone still thought that before Miami, they might want to reconsider.

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George Russell is clearly having a tough time in Miami

In Miami, the preseason favorites had to make excuses. Yes, the fact that rivals can almost completely eliminate Mercedes’ speed advantage in one fell swoop – with just one upgrade package – is a bit surprising. Antonelli showed that the W17 still had enough pace to contend for victory, but the buffer was now gone – at least until Mercedes brought its own updated car to Canada. Considering how well the Silver Arrows have performed in Montreal in recent years, we’ll likely see them dominate there again.

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But Miami shows that the whole of 2026 is unlikely to be a walk in the park for Mercedes. Toto Wolff still needs his driver to perform – and it’s not Miami’s Russell.

Indeed, it’s not hard to see George’s point: He also struggled in Miami last year. He did expose his hidden weaknesses after Saturday’s run.

“This is a track I’ve struggled with,” he said. “Kimi was on pole last year and I was fifth, and today he was on pole and I was fifth. The grip here is very low, you slip a lot and the tarmac is hot. Similar to Brazil, Kimi was more competitive than me there again. And I prefer high-grip conditions, where the tires and the car are more connected to the ground. So, yeah, I just want to get through this weekend, really.”

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While the theory holds water – Antonelli did look the stronger in Sao Paulo last year – it’s certainly impressive that he has exposed Russell’s weaknesses so clearly after just over a year in Formula 1.

On Sunday, Antonelli will have to fight for victory like never before. Charles Leclerc made life difficult for him in the early stages before Lando Norris caught up with him in the second period. He needed to be perfect – and he was.

It’s still too early to declare the young Italian a favorite, and it’s clear he’ll be as far away from the idea as possible – but both are difficult given Kimi’s lead in the standings has now stretched to 20 points.

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Toto Wolff, Mercedes

“That’s the risk of him getting carried away too quickly,” Toto Wolff said at a media conference on Sunday night, addressing not only the reporters in the room but also Kimi’s father. “So, my parents and I knew, we knew our parents would keep him grounded. Right, Marco?”

“Yes, yes,” old Antonelli smiled.

“I think it’s shocking,” Wolfe continued. “I think these races, in a way, as we predicted as a team, last season we were going to have ups and downs, moments of brilliance, moments where you want to tear your hair out. And this year, it’s going to come together. I don’t think any of us would have expected this run. Given that the car is so good and the engine is so right – but how he’s been able to, you know, profit from it every week, that’s special.”

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Keeping his feet on the ground seems to be Antonelli’s biggest challenge now. The pace that prompted Wolff last year to accelerate the Italian’s promotion to F1 is now evident and undeniable. The ability to cope with stress was also demonstrated. It’s not just last Sunday, last year in Brazil Antonelli had to defend Max Verstappen in the closing stages.

Now Kimi needs to back it up with consistency. Three wins in a row is impressive, but he hasn’t had much trouble so far this season, and there are some games where he’ll need to overcome adversity.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

“When you look at his trajectory in karting and junior formula, he’s been outstanding,” Wolff said on Sunday. “When you think about what we said last year, this is how he performed, how his development happened. We had these great strides, moments of brilliance and then moments where he was allowed to make mistakes. We need to calibrate and continue to coach him while still putting pressure on him.

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“He just takes it away. He’s able to analyze it but not think too much about it. He separates it. ‘Okay, I made a mistake and I put it away’. And then, boom, this year we start the season: he’s seen the grands prix, he’s worked with the teams, he knows the pressure that the media puts on him…

“But nonetheless, we really need to keep our cool here. With such success, [for] He was such a young man at that stage.

“So, the family and us, we really…”

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Wolfe turned again to old Antonelli.

“You’re the first one to really calm down! Marco is great at keeping his son grounded, even when he’s winning. I think all of us who are close to him need to keep re-emphasizing and repeating that message. It’s a long game. He has a killer teammate with great speed. The others are on point in their performances. We want to play the long game. He has the potential to win a lot of titles in 10, 15 years. We don’t want to get bogged down by the huge expectations that are placed on him now, because once he has a bad game, when he makes a mistake, people will say, ‘Oh, maybe Kimi is not the superstar we thought he was. [he was]’. That’s why – let’s stay on this trajectory.