Mercedes must protect Kimi Antonelli at Monza after being taught a ‘big lesson’ at his first home F1 race

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Kimi Antonelli is desperately in need of a lift in form as the Mercedes star goes into his second home race of the season at Monza.

The 19-year-old had shown early signs of promise in his rookie F1 season, finishing P4 on debut in Melbourne after starting down in 16th. Antonelli claimed his maiden pole position for the Sprint in Miami, becoming the youngest polesitter in any race format.

But since F1 has arrived in Europe, the Italian has had a torrid time. He has scored just one point on the continent in 2025, coming with a P10 finish at Budapest before the summer break.

Antonelli scored his first F1 podium in Canada, but that result, plus Hungary, have been his only points in the last nine races. He finished in the points at Zandvoort last weekend, but was demoted to 16th for a 15-second time penalty.

The Mercedes driver had 10 seconds added to his time after Antonelli crashed into Charles Leclerc at the banking at turn three. A further five seconds for speeding in the pit lane summed up another miserable race as he heads into the Italian Grand Prix in need of a confidence boost.

Mercedes must protect Kimi Antonelli at Monza after being taught a ‘big lesson’ at Imola with his media duties

Antonelli’s rotten form started at his home race at Imola, where a mechanical issue forced him to retire. Mercedes did not help matters either with an increase in media duties at the event, which only added to the pressure with all the attention on him.

Journalist Ian Parkes says Mercedes learned a ‘big lesson’ from their antics at Imola. They must protect Antonelli at all costs at Monza, especially now that his form has fallen dramatically after the increased pressure put on him at the Emilia-Romagna GP.

“So for Kimi, as I say, good, strong, solid start, scoring good, strong, solid points. But then since we got into Europe, it’s just gone off the rails,” said Parkes via the RacingNews365 Podcast.

“Other than that anomalous result, now when you look at it, his podium in Montreal. So it underlines to Mercedes just that one result, exactly what he is capable of.

“It’s just that everything else that has gone around it, being in Europe, has just fallen apart for him. Whatever could go wrong has gone wrong.

“And I bet in many respects, whilst I can imagine, he must be hugely looking forward to Monza. Nevertheless, there’s going to be this huge pressure on him again, being this young Italian kid on home soil.

“Mercedes learned a big, big lesson at the Imola Grand Prix, whereby they just overloaded Kimi with way too much marketing and media activity around that event.

“And as Kimi pointed out over the course of that weekend, he pretty much then went into the Grand Prix, almost burned out before he’d gone into the cockpit on Sunday.”

READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats

Kimi Antonelli cannot afford to have any distractions at Monza as many figures cast doubt over him

Jacques Villeneuve said Gwen Lagrue was not happy with Antonelli at Imola as he brought his school friends to the paddock. While it can be viewed as extra support, it could also act as a distraction; he cannot afford any of that at Monza.

Antonelli was ‘shaken’ at Zandvoort by his crash with Leclerc. The Mercedes driver is clearly lacking confidence, and he must act quickly to regain it as people begin to cast doubt over him.

Jolyon Palmer says Antonelli has created a one-man team at Mercedes, as teammate George Russell has proven to be a level above in 2025. The Brit has only been outside the points once all year and has consistently fought at the front with the McLarens and Max Verstappen.

Karun Chandhok says Antonelli has not met expectations in 2025. The Italian looks set to stay at Mercedes in 2026, but the paddock will be expecting improvements from him as F1 heads towards the new technical regulations.