F1 2025 recap: Kimi Antonelli shows flashes of promise in Mercedes rookie year

Key Highlights

• And while Russell had enough experience to deal with the setback, it sent Antonelli into a tailspin. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe ill-fated Imola update coincided with Antonelli's home debut, hailing from nearby Bologna, and he admitted to feeling drained by the increased attention and scrutiny that would be a feature of the busy European paddocks."I had a very long, difficult period in Europe," Antonelli said when quizzed by Motorsport. com in Abu Dhabi on his many ups and downs in 2025.
• "I even started to doubt myself and I was also afraid that I wouldn't have been able to get out of it."During that difficult period, I lost my direction a little.
• There was a lot of frustration, and I started thinking too much about the final result.
• Every time I got in the car, I put a lot of pressure on myself and didn't focus on driving well."AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAndrea Kimi Antonelli's Monza weekend proved to be a tough oneAndrea Kimi Antonelli's Monza weekend proved to be a tough oneMercedes chief Toto Wolff had to show tough love at times, particularly after a poor weekend in Monza in which Antonelli crashed in FP2 and then looked too scared to make another mistake and drove well under the limit.
• Antonelli revealed that he had a post-race debrief in Italy with Wolff and race engineer Pete Bonnington, after which he told himself to "reset and start from scratch."AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBy that stage, however, a maiden podium in Canada was just one of several signs of Antonelli's class – too many to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Antonelli did bounce back from Baku onwards, and as Mercedes' performances stabilised so did Antonelli's rookie season, starting to deliver cleaner weekends that began yielding big points finishes.