Andrea Kimi Antonelli recorded his best result since his podium at Montreal at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and Mercedes chief James Allison has shared the ‘critical’ change in approach that aided the young Italian in his fourth-place finish.
Antonelli added 12 points to his championship tally at Baku after previously registering just three points in between his heroics in Canada, six rounds ago, and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old has had a difficult start to his Formula 1 career and has come under fire in recent months, with his readiness for F1 becoming a topic for debate.
Mercedes haven’t ruled out replacing Antonelli just yet. He has a contract with the team that is set to expire at the end of the current campaign, so the youngster needs to replicate his feat in Azerbaijan to cement his seat at the Silver Arrows for 2026.
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Mercedes have made free practice sessions a ‘crucial’ focus for Kimi Antonelli on race weekends
Antonelli out-qualified George Russell on the streets of Baku for the second time this season. He looked up for a good result all weekend, with Ted Kravitz noticing visible frustration from Antonelli after a red flag in Q3 prevented him from setting a qualifying lap.
Speaking in a YouTube video of Mercedes’ Azerbaijan GP debrief, technical director James Allison highlighted the change in approach that the Silver Arrows took with Antonelli to bring out the best version of himself.
“I think the approach from all of us, really, was to make consistent sessions the order of the day, understanding with Kimi and that focus and attention on those free practice sessions is crucial for arriving in qualifying in good shape, which is crucial for making the race work out for you.
“Any slip-ups in free practice are much more costly than they appear, so the concentration on that needs to be collectively high from all of us. And Kimi certainly played a champion part in making sure that he really didn’t put a foot wrong.
“I think he went up an escape road once during the weekend, but absolutely not a scratch on his car into qualifying, which was pretty difficult. You saw how many red flags there were in qualifying.
“Kimi came through that in good nick, did a good lap. He was within one gusty corner away from being P2 on the grid and had a good weekend as a consequence.”
It has been noted that Toto Wolff has been brutal with Antonelli during his rookie campaign, something that Lewis Hamilton or George Russell never experienced.
However, neither of those drivers also spent their rookie season under the Austrian executive, so maybe the tough love that Wolff is showing is finally having the intended effect on the 19-year-old.
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Kimi Antonelli has had difficulties in trying to emulate George Russell’s results in his rookie season
The partial root of Kimi Antonelli’s difficulties in the current campaign can be attributed to the stellar form of his Mercedes counterpart.
Russell is in his seventh season of F1 now and has a vast amount of experience fighting for positions in every area of the pecking order.
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Oscar Piastri |
324 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
299 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
255 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
212 |
| 5 |
Charles Leclerc |
165 |
| 6 |
Lewis Hamilton |
121 |
| 7 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
78 |
Besides Max Verstappen and the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, Russell is the only other driver to notch a race win this season.
Jolyon Palmer believes Antonelli has had a more difficult rookie season than Max Verstappen due to the fact that the Dutchman was pitted against a fellow rookie in Carlos Sainz at Toro Rosso in 2015.
If the now four-time world champion was measured against someone who was experienced to the level that Russell is now, the story may have ended up differently for Verstappen.