Kimi Antonelli pinpoints what has been his weakest attribute during his rookie F1 season with Mercedes

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Kimi Antonelli is the highest-ranked rookie heading into the second half of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Truthfully, that was expected, given that he is driving a much better car than his fellow newcomers. However, that should not take away from the performances that the Italian has shown this season, having broken numerous records in F1 already.

Antonelli became the youngest polesitter in any format when he set the pace for the Sprint in Miami. The 18-year-old achieved his first podium in F1 at the Canadian GP with P3, but since that result, the Mercedes talent has hit a stumbling block.

Montreal has been the Italian’s only points finish in the last six races, having multiple mechanical retirements and crashes. Antonelli wishes he knew how Ayrton Senna overcame accidents, which he has now admitted he is fearful of.

Sitting seventh in the standings with 63 points, Antonelli has shown flashes of brilliance, but rookie mistakes have crept in and hampered his season. There is one area in particular where he feels he is lacking.

Kimi Antonelli says qualifying has been his weakest attribute during rookie F1 season

Unsurprisingly, Mercedes teammate George Russell has the upper hand in 2025. His experience and pace, which guided him to a win in Canada, have put him 84 points ahead of Antonelli.

Russell has beaten his teammate in every Grand Prix thus far, with Antonelli only outqualifying his teammate on one occasion. Speaking at the drivers’ press conference at the Belgian Grand Prix, the 18-year-old admitted that Saturday is where he needs to improve most.

He said: “Qualifying has been a bit weak but I’ve just been trying to put it all together. I think I’ve not been that good on doing the right step.

“Overall it’s still been quite positive and I’ve been learning a lot, and we’ve got some good results, but now the second half of the season it’s important to do the step and find more consistency myself.

“The rhythm of the season has been high, the intensity has been quite high as well, so I had to adjust a little bit, especially after the first triple header.”

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Kimi Antonelli needs to find improvements amid speculation surrounding his future

Antonelli has had far from a bad rookie season in F1 thus far. However, it is clear that he does have things to iron out to become more consistent.

Jolyon Palmer says Russell is not an ‘easy benchmark’ for Antonelli to try and match. The Brit has been dominating the youngster, with his side of the garage letting down Mercedes’ points haul as Ferrari leapfrog them into second.

Antonelli is out of contract in 2025, with rumours swirling about his future amid Mercedes’ links to Max Verstappen. Reports have suggested that the Italian could be loaned out for a season, but Mercedes risk damaging their relationship with Antonelli if they do so.

Toto Wolff stated that Russell and Antonelli are the ‘absolute priority’ for 2026, with Verstappen not expected to leave Red Bull until the following season. This will give the latter assurances, but he will want to find improvements to get his form back on track.