Alex Jacques believes Mercedes ‘regret’ one Kimi Antonelli career decision after difficult Belgian Grand Prix

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli endured a difficult weekend at the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix, as the Mercedes rookie failed to earn a point for the sixth time in the last seven rounds.

But Formula 1 commentator Alex Jacques exclusively told F1 Oversteer after the Belgian GP that the ‘best way’ to judge Antonelli will be at the end of his rookie campaign. It is still too soon to judge the Italian following his P17 in the F1 Sprint at Spa and P16 in the Belgian GP.

Life in the pinnacle of motorsport started well for Antonelli after replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. But since boasting a record-breaking start in Formula 1, the 18-year-old has had a dreary stretch that has only returned 15 points since the Miami Grand Prix weekend in May.

Only when Antonelli earned his debut F1 podium with P3 in the Canadian Grand Prix in June has the Bologna boy bagged any points during the last seven rounds. His difficult days in the Ardennes followed his retirements in Imola, Spain, Austria and Britain plus a P18 in Monaco.

Alex Jacques believes ‘everyone’ at Mercedes regrets Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s FP1 run at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix

Antonelli even admitted in Canada that he had ‘overcorrected’ after his crash during FP1 for the 2024 Italian Grand Prix. Mercedes gave the Bologna boy his F1 weekend debut on home turf last August, but Antonelli had a 52G crash at Monza’s Parabolica on only his second lap.

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

The teenager believes he drove ‘a bit too safe’ after destroying George Russell’s car the day before Mercedes confirmed Antonelli would replace Hamilton. And Jacques says ‘everyone’ in Brackley involved in the decision ‘regrets’ letting Antonelli push the limits on his first run.

Jacques told F1 Oversteer: “I think everyone involved regrets the program they ran in Monza last year, when the day before he was going to be announced as Hamilton’s replacement in the team, as a teenager, you put him on the soft tyres early on at his home race.

“That’s been and gone, they’ve learned those lessons, they’ve run him around the world in a testing program, as well. Let’s get to the end of the season, and before anyone jumps to any massive conclusions.

“But I think the growing expectation in the paddock now is that it will be Antonelli and Russell in that car for next year, which means that he can focus on making sure the second half of the campaign builds on the great points of Miami and Canada.

“And rookies are going to have tough periods of time. Very few people jump in and look immaculate straight away. And you need a team, with a balanced car and a team to totally understand what the car does, a complete comprehension of the set-up. And Mercedes are struggling with issues that they can’t manipulate.

“Mercedes can’t quite get the performance out of the car. For so long, we heard that it was temperature sensitive. Well, we’ve been to Silverstone and we’ve been to Spa, and they’ve not been competitive.

“So it’s not temperature sensitive, and they need to get a comprehension of the car, and when that happens, it’s a lot easier for a rookie driver to find the performance. But let’s not jump to any conclusions. Let’s wait until the end of the year to assess and look at it in the whole, rather than an inevitable, sticky patch for a rookie.”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s rookie F1 season should only be judged at the end of 2025

Only when Antonelli crashed into Max Verstappen to retire from the Austrian Grand Prix has the Italian been at fault for any of his retirements so far. He retired at Imola due to a throttle sensor issue, in Spain due to an engine failure and in Britain after he was hit by Isack Hadjar.

So, as Antonelli became the youngest-ever F1 polesitter in the Miami Sprint, Jacques thinks the 18-year-old deserves more time before being judged. Also, Antonelli broke Verstappen’s record as F1’s youngest Grand Prix leader in Japan and he even set the fastest lap at Suzuka.

Jacques told F1 Oversteer: “I think the best way to look at Kimi Antonelli’s season is at the end of it. We’re at the halfway stage, he’s had some incredible highlights, going to a circuit that you’ve never raced on before and being top of Sprint Qualifying – mighty impressive.

READ MORE: Alex Jacques explains why Lewis Hamilton did not look like himself at the Belgian Grand Prix after Ferrari’s updates

“Going to Canada, a circuit that he’d never raced on before and finishing third, I think sometimes people underprice George Russell’s ability. There’ll be a bit of concern, he’s got the podium finish in Canada, but that’ll now be within seven races. That’s his only point-scoring finish, isn’t it? Which is not what you’d expect of a Mercedes driver.

“And the argument against his promotion was always, if you fail to score points in a midfield team, no one is going to be too worried if you’re a rookie driver. There is, as he’s finding in recent weeks, way more pressure when you’re in the Mercedes stable.

“But, of course, he’s going to say yes to the opportunity he was given. He is not the one who chose to skip rungs on the ladder. Kimi Antonelli, if you’d placed him in a front-running team in Formula 3, would have done Formula 3.

“Kimi Antonelli would have happily been placed at a midfield team. Mercedes have brilliantly spotted a fantastic talent there. They’ve got a brilliant engineering team, and they’re just going to have to stay the course. Let’s see at the end of the year where his performances have got to.”

Alex Jacques thinks Mercedes will have a ‘defining’ advantage with F1’s 2026 engine rules

Questions have lingered about Antonelli and even Russell’s futures at Mercedes as they are both out of contract at the end of this year. Team principal and CEO Toto Wolff only elected to promote Mercedes’ academy graduate Antonelli to replace Hamilton on a one-year deal.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and chassis regulations

But Wolff is likely to offer Antonelli another one-year contract to stay at Mercedes for 2026, when the regulations will be completely overhauled. The 2026 F1 engine and aerodynamic regulations represent the biggest shake-up of the rulebook that Formula 1 has ever made.

Mercedes are widely expected to have the best 2026 F1 rules engine, when the power units will feature a 50/50 split between electrical and combustion power. And Jacques expects the Silver Arrows will have a ‘defining’ advantage by knowing how that energy will be deployed.

“The quick start is key for them,” Jacques added. “I mean, McLaren are going to seal the constructors’ championship fairly soon, and they have a sizeable advantage.

“Everyone’s switching to 2026 already. If McLaren were developing up against Red Bull all the way to the end, Mercedes would have a massive advantage of being able to switch off the development for this year and go all-in for 2026.

“But the teams are roughly in the right place. But to have the Mercedes engine technology as the works team, the mastery of that configuration, understanding it totally and how to deal with the energy deployment, it’s going to be defining for next year.”