Andrea Kimi Antonelli expands on his mindset after Monza which has affected his approach in F1 2025, as Toto Wolff backs his driver to come good.
After a shock start to his F1 journey in Monza last year, Mercedes’ Antonelli made a solid start to his rookie season after back-to-back points results. But things dropped off in the first triple-header. He had two straight DNFs and one where he was classified only 18th.
In Canada, he managed to get his first podium but he followed it up with two further DNFs. In the last six races, he has had four retirements and one podium. The confidence he regained after Canada, it has been dented again. He wanted to be more aggressive in his approach, but he will have to step back.
After his Monza incident, Antonelli decided to take a conservative approach in practice in rookie year, in order to build-up slowly. He has been doing that which reaped results to start the year. But luck hasn’t been kind to him. But team boss Wolff backs him to come good as the season progresses.
Getting the mindset working from being conservative –
Antonelli: “I think Canada was really important for me. It was a big relief, but as well it was important because I think there was a couple of times in the season where I came close to the podium. I mean, Australia first race, I came incredibly close, and as well with Miami, with the pole in the sprint, and then P3 in the quali. Definitely, I remember back then that was the goal to be at least in the podium, but I just missed out, and to finally achieve that in Canada definitely was really important. I think as well, this will help me as a driver to drive a bit more relaxed as well. Because, I’m not going to lie, in the previous weekends I’ve been maybe a bit too tense on some occasions, and a bit too conservative as well – especially in practice. I think now is really the time, after achieving this result, to make a step, and to make a step further, and to improve myself – especially as well on the approach in practice.
“So, trying to explore a bit more, especially the grip, because I think in qualifying I’ve been always arriving with too many question marks, and having to explore too much, and to learn too much. In qualifying you don’t really have much time, because it’s only one lap on the tyre and then that’s it. So, I think it’s really the time to make a step on this side. I think still in Canada I was a bit too conservative, especially in FP. Because if you look at the trend in FP, I would always arrive quite late into the session. I would always put the time quite late in the session, just because it kind of required many laps to get there. I feel like, obviously, I truly believe I overcorrected after what happened in Monza, and now I’m a bit too safe, I’m a bit on the safe side. But that’s why I think results like this also help you to move forward and to make the step.
“I think now is the time to do the step, because nowadays F1 is super tight, especially when you see qualifying, the gaps are just so close that even a tenth can put you on the back foot. So, it’s really important to be on the top of the game, and that’s why I cannot keep arriving in qualifying with so many question marks, and not the right confidence on how much grip there is, and having to explore too much and to learn too much. So I think now is the time, especially in practice, to get back a bit closer to Monza. Not exactly like Monza, but get closer to that in order to arrive ready in qualifying.”
Austria incident worse or Monza –
Antonelli: “I think Monza was worse. For me, Monza was like the worst ever. But definitely, after you go through difficult moments, it’s also, they all help in case you face them again to overcome them in a better way. And I think, the difficult triple header was a really good learning. And it really helped me as well to face the down moment of Austria and to, kind of reset and come back stronger for future. But definitely, these are all episodes that obviously you don’t want to happen because in some ways, they kind of hurt you as well. But they also make you stronger. And when you get to the moment again, the difficult moment, you’re able to react in a much better way. After the incident, first of all, it was not super easy to go back into the garage because, obviously, I felt very sorry towards the team.
“Ending the race in lap one is never good and, of course, also, towards the mechanics that had to repair the car afterwards. So, I took a little bit of time to cool down and then walk into the garage and apologise to all the members and then eventually also talk with Otto. But, in the moment, I didn’t talk too much because, obviously, I was focused on the race and I didn’t want to bother them much. But later on, with a more proper conversation, I explained, I said, I’m very sorry, it was my mistake. And then he said, it was very comprehensive. He wasn’t angry or anything. But, obviously, you know, the thing is, now I cannot make the same mistake again.”
One good result but bad run still –
Antonelli: “I’m not super happy to be honest, too many zeroes scored. Since Canada I’ve been trying, I’ve been struggling to find some positives to be honest. It feels like nothing is really working on our way and just need to focus and reset and try to find again the light at the end of the tunnel because definitely I’m not going through a nice moment.”
Continue with trajectory –
Wolff: “Most important is that the development trajectory continues to be positive. I think when we look at last year, it wasn’t our most intelligent call to put him in the car in Monza, give him all the pressure, and then obviously with the incident, that’s something that’s in the back of your mind. And I think with the podium, you can shake that off and say, “I’ve proven that I can be fast.” And also, throughout the year, we gave him lots of space to explore, to develop, to under-hit, or also push hard when he felt confident in the car. And in that respect, I think that is what you can expect from a driver that can be a champion one day.”
Handling Antonelli from media/fans –
Wolff: “That is a really important question because Italy has been starved of drivers that are in race or championship-winning cars. So, the enthusiasm is huge. Top media outlets writing headlines that Kimi is a legend aren’t helpful, because in a country so passionate, lifting an 18-year-old to the status of legend after a podium is dangerous. It’s dangerous in that respect that we need to increasingly shield him from everybody wanting something from him. It starts in a trivial environment with lots of fans wanting selfies, and it’s great – better this than the other way around.
“There have been many people that were involved in his racing career which expect something back. I believe that a young driver of 18, when there is too much pressure from every side, it can harm his development. There’s enough pressure being in the car, having George Russell as your teammate, driving a Mercedes car that can win races. If everything around it starts to continue to put pressure on him, I think it’s something we really need to protect him from. And that’s what we are trying.”
Rough run –
Wolff: “It’s a rough run. There were two races that were really subpar and everybody feels that way in the team. And for Kimi also. As a team, we need to go back to a baseline. He’s a great driver. There’s a reason why we took him. As a team, we know what we are able to achieve. We reconcile properly. And then take it from there. There’s two more races to go. We try to bounce back. I’m not sure he’s trying to be [over]. I think he wants to do well. Obviously, there’s a ton of information that’s coming down on him, his way of trying to extract the best from the car like ‘Okay, I know I can drive. What is it I need to do for that to come back?’
“The whole world for us as a team and for the drivers is simplification. We are overthinking. Even until Silverstone, I am okay with what happened. The performance, the first stop was a strategy blunder. We should have not brought him in. To be fair enough, he can’t really, because of his lack of experience, say that’s wrong. He was put in an impossible position. Then he had the shunt with Hadjar. It’s just important now to keep him in a good frame of mind and not make him suffer or blame himself too much.”
Here’s Aston Martin on George Russell
Here’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli on British GP
Here’s George Russell on British GP