Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Bernie Collins feels McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s “phenomenal” rate of development in F1 has set an unfair standard to ask Mercedes talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli to match.
Piastri has blown Collins away with how he has improved year-on-year since his F1 debut for McLaren in 2023. The 24-year-old particularly impressed Collins last season, as she believes he made vast progress in terms of his pace and consistency despite his title bid falling apart.
In only his third season in Formula 1, Piastri emerged as a legitimate title contender in 2025. He even led the F1 drivers’ standings for more days than anyone last term at 189 out of the 266 days. But he let a 34-point lead over teammate Lando Norris turn into a 13-point deficit.
Antonelli, meanwhile, made his Formula 1 debut for Mercedes in 2025 after replacing Lewis Hamilton. While the 19-year-old impressed Collins in his rookie term, she feels he still has a lot to learn. And, even at Antonelli’s best, he is not yet on teammate George Russell’s level.
What do you expect from Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the 2026 F1 season?
Oscar Piastri’s F1 career trajectory sets an unfair standard for Andrea Kimi Antonelli to match
Collins feels Piastri and Norris at McLaren plus Russell and Antonelli at Mercedes are set for a strong year in 2026, given the widely held belief that the Silver Arrows have built the best engine for the new rules with a near 50/50 split between electrical and combustion power.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Yet it would be wrong to now expect Antonelli to emerge as a true title contender because Piastri did once McLaren provided him with a championship-worthy package. Antonelli has set out his ambitions to win the 2026 F1 title, but Collins feels he still has a lot left to learn.
Collins said on Sky Sports F1 (06/03, 06:33) after FP2 at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix: “I think the Mercedes and McLaren obviously running the same engine, we expected that to be the strongest of the field. It [the engine] didn’t show all its cards probably through testing, and it definitely didn’t show it in FP1 this morning, either.
“So, I think there’s more to come from all of those drivers to the point where we were talking to Jenson [Button] about can Kimi take the step?
“Oscar, over the past year, has made phenomenal steps in the race pace that he’s showing, in his consistency. Obviously, there were still a few races through last year that he didn’t get the most out of the car.
“But I don’t think we can necessarily expect that from Kimi, because I think Oscar’s rate and improvement has been phenomenal. We can’t use that as the benchmark for everyone else, because Kimi had ups and downs through last year. If he can bring the highs of that, I think George still maybe has the upper hand with that.”
Kimi Antonelli must show in 2026 that he can bounce back from confidence-sapping issues
Just 13 laps for Max Verstappen in FP2
Is reliability a concern for Red Bull?
Antonelli enjoyed a record-breaking start to his Formula 1 career in 2025, as he became the youngest driver to set the fastest lap and lead a Grand Prix in Japan, as well as the youngest polesitter in the Miami Sprint. The Italian also finished his first year on the grid very strongly.
Mercedes saw Antonelli have a breakthrough weekend at the 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, as he sealed P2 in the Sprint and the Grand Prix in Brazil. But it now remains to be seen how the Bologna boy handles any issues in 2026, given his issues after losing confidence in 2025.
A run of one point-scoring finish through seven rounds followed Mercedes’ rear suspension update wrecking Antonelli’s confidence in 2025. He struggled to stay afloat between rounds seven and 13, as he did not adapt to the upgrade that Mercedes later agreed was a mistake.
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
