Kimi Antonelli reveals what he’s thinking about ‘every lap’ as it is holding him back at Mercedes

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli got back into the points before the summer break with P10 in the 2025 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix, yet the Mercedes rookie knows he must improve.

His point-paying finish at the Hungaroring marked only the second time that the 18-year-old had posted a top-10 finish over the last eight Grands Prix. It also capped a run of three races without a point since Antonelli earned his maiden podium finish with P3 in the Canadian GP.

The Canadian GP proved to be a huge outlier among the Italian’s recent results since starting his rookie F1 season with points-paying finishes in five of the first six rounds. Mercedes even saw Antonelli retire during four of the eight Grands Prix since the start of the European tour.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli realises ‘every lap’ how much faster he can attack in qualifying

Mercedes’ rear suspension upgrade caused Antonelli to lose his confidence with their car, as the update debuted at Imola and used at the Canadian, Austrian, British and Belgian Grands Prix created balance problems. So, Mercedes then removed the update at the Hungarian GP.

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

Still, Antonelli was only able to qualify P15 for the Hungarian GP as the Bologna boy failed to reach Q3 for the fifth time through 14 rounds. Antonelli admits that qualifying is an area the teenager must improve, as he is still realising ‘every lap’ how much more he can truly attack.

“I’m still having a hard time understanding how much the car can do over a qualifying lap,” Antonelli told Auto Motor und Sport. “You’re so close to the limit that it’s quite easy to go a bit over it. I’m still trying to find that fine line.

“In qualifying, the grip is extremely high. You enter the corners so much faster than in the race. And on every lap, you think, ‘This corner is going even faster’. I’m not at the point yet where I’m at the absolute limit on the first lap.

“I’m feeling my way toward the limit. The problem is that qualifying doesn’t give you many opportunities to work toward it for a long time. On top of that, the limit is constantly changing with the conditions. But I’m working on it.”

Mercedes teammate George Russell leads Antonelli 13-1 in their Grand Prix qualifying head-to-head battle. The only time that the Italian has gotten the better of the Briton came at the Miami Grand Prix with P3 and P5. Antonelli also took pole for the F1 Sprint in Florida in May.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s qualifying struggles are helping George Russell dominate him

Off the circuit, Russell admires how Antonelli deals with the F1 media, as the Italian receives a lot of attention as the next great hope for a nation and having also replaced seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. But Antonelli hopes to produce more on the circuit.

Having seen his teammate show what the W16 is capable of more often than he has to date, Antonelli believes it would be ‘an award’ to match Russell’s levels by the end of his first term in the field. The 18-year-old has made it his ‘goal’ to get closer to the Briton’s performances.

Russell currently leads Antonelli in almost all of their head-to-head categories this year, with the only advantage in the latter’s tally being his Sprint pole in Miami. But the former will feel his pole for the Canadian Grand Prix, which he won, was more rewarding than a Sprint pole.

If Antonelli is to address his shortcomings compared to Russell by the end of his rookie year, then improving his qualifying performances will be a great place to start. Mercedes will also especially want to see the Italian get into Q3 more often, having bowed out early five times.