Kimi Antonelli has just told Mercedes where he needs to improve most going into 2026

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A lot was asked of Kimi Antonelli when Mercedes made the decision to promote him to Formula 1 at the age of 18.

For the most part, he has handled the responsibility well, and finishing two points behind Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ championship shows that.

But, he’ll feel that there is more to come when the 2026 F1 regulations begin, and he can kick on from the foundations he laid with Mercedes this year.

At one stage, Antonelli went on a barren run of form in the summer, and his confidence started to take a bit of a hit. After leaving Europe, things picked up again.

Now, Antonelli ‘really wants’ to beat Hamilton and is ready to make a rival out of the man he succeeded in 2025.

Jacques Villeneuve thinks the ‘dynamics’ at Mercedes have ‘changed’, following Antonelli’s improvements at the end of the season. George Russell could be under a little more pressure in the future.

READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli ‘massively impressed’ during private Mercedes F1 debrief despite Qatar GP fury

Kimi Antonelli admits that he needs more ‘experience’ with Mercedes in 2026

Antonelli created history in Las Vegas and gained an impressive 14 places on the way to his third podium of the season.

A lot of his best drives have been comeback drives, where he has to do a lot of overtaking en route to scoring strong points.

During his rookie season, team boss Toto Wolff thinks Antonelli faced a ‘completely inappropriate’ situation. There was too much expectation on him.

For all the Italian driver has struggled at times, he has learned a lot through it. He thinks that his experience is where he still lacks, and has earmarked it as an area to improve on.

“I grew up a lot during the year, but I still feel like there’s quite a bit of room for improvement,” he said in an interview with ServusTV.

“As well, I still feel like I’m not full, full in control of the situation, just because there are still some scenarios that I need to experience. This year, I have been going through a lot of scenarios, and they really helped me to grow.”

READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli shares why he thinks he will be even faster than Mercedes rival George Russell one day

What is Kimi Antonelli’s biggest remaining Formula 1 weakness?

At the age of 19, Antonelli still has plenty of time to develop and blossom into the superstar that his team expects him to be.

But the most glaring issue he had this year was a lack of consistency. Overall, he might have finished fifth in the standings if he could have sustained a little momentum.

Worryingly, his qualifying speed was missing a lot, too, but he was up against one of the top three drivers on form in 2025.

He’ll be hoping that the driving style demanded by the new regulations suits him, which would set him up nicely for some sustained, long term success.