Bernie Collins raises question about Kimi Antonelli despite already repaying Toto Wolff’s trust

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Bernie Collins has raised an important question about Kimi Antonelli despite claiming he is already repaying Toto Wolff’s trust. 

Antonelli, 19, has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of motorsport, having been chosen as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 campaign.

The teenager went on to have a mixed season, showing world-class talent and also a clear lack of experience.

However, in 2026, Antonelli has stepped up his game and currently leads George Russell by 20 points in the world championship standings.

This weekend, the pressure is firmly on Russell, who needs a clean weekend in order to halt Antonelli’s momentum.

On Friday, Antonelli was beaten to Sprint pole by Russell, who clocked a fastest time of 1:12.965, which was just 0.068 seconds quicker than the Italian’s best effort.

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Bernie Collins raises question about Kimi Antonelli ahead of European races

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 during Friday’s action in Montreal, former Aston Martin strategy engineer Collins spoke about Antonelli’s start to the 2026 season.

She stated that although Antonelli has already proved Wolff’s trust was ‘not unfounded’, the question remains whether he has learned from last season.

Collins alluded to the fact that Antonelli suffered a dip in form during the European races, which are on the horizon. 

Collins said: “In 2025, there were a lot of question marks. Was he too young? Has Toto Wolff put too much behind him?

“Mercedes put in a lot to get Kimi where he is, and last year’s season has really allowed him to start this season really strong.

“He had a dip last year mid-season in the European races, so has he done enough to correct the issues from there? We will have to see.

“But I don’t think any of us expected him to start so well. We expected it to be Russell, but Kimi has shown Toto’s trust is not unfounded.”

READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli reveals how Mercedes feel about his ‘attitude’ amid F1 title fight

Kimi Antonelli says Mercedes gained a bit of ‘edge’ after bringing upgrades to Montreal

Speaking after Sprint qualifying, Antonelli admitted that he failed to produce a clean lap following making a mistake that threw him off.

Despite the disappointment, the 19-year-old claimed that the new upgrades on the W17 have given Mercedes an edge over their rivals.

As reported by Sky Sports, Antonelli said: “The lap was quite bad, to be fair. It was not clean at all. I did a mistake, and that threw me off a little bit.

“I then decided to go for a lap on the soft tyres without doing prep. The tyres were a bit cold. But still P2, so the potential is definitely there.

“We brought the upgrades, so we still need to understand the package a little bit more, as the balance has changed. But it seems to have given us a bit of an edge again.”