Mercedes chief pinpoints exactly why Kimi Antonelli has been ‘not as competitive’ since his Canadian GP podium

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli had another tough showing at the Belgian Grand Prix, adding to his recent woes at the wheel of a Mercedes F1 car.

Kimi Antonelli took the chequered flag in P16 at the Belgian Grand Prix. The young Italian took a few positions during the early stages of the race and showed promising signs of being able to get into the points after starting from the rear of the grid.

A cautious later pit-stop in the wet-to-dry crossover period saw the Mercedes driver return to the track in the midst of a DRS train, which proved to be too difficult for Antonelli to pick his way through the traffic.

The P16 finish means Antonelli’s podium at the Canadian Grand Prix in June is his only points-scoring finish in the last seven race weekends. This has led F1 fans to believe Toto Wolff made an error with Antonelli and should have let him gain experience at a midfield team in his rookie season instead.

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The trajectory of Mercedes’ development has negatively impacted Kimi Antonelli’s results

Speaking to various media outlets, including GPblog, after the conclusion of the Belgian Grand Prix, Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin took over the usual media duties from Toto Wolff.

On the topic of another performance by Antonelli without bringing home any points, Shovlin defended his teenage driver, pointing the blame on the Mercedes machinery instead, saying, “Kimi’s on a steep learning curve, and he’s going to be getting better as a driver.

“The fact that his early performances were better than they are now is almost certainly that the car’s not as competitive. And you can see that mirrored in George’s results.”

“When a young driver comes in and they’re in a very good car, they can often really impress. When a young driver comes in and they’re in a difficult car, it’s very hard to get it together week in, week out. We’ve seen enough from Kimi to know that there’s a great deal of talent there.”

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Kimi Antonelli’s seat at Mercedes now looks safe after Max Verstappen’s Belgian GP result

Max Verstappen‘s future at Red Bull has been heavily debated in recent weeks amid reports of his unhappiness at the team due to a number of different factors.

Mercedes were heavily linked with signing Verstappen, but faced difficulties in negotiations because of the Dutchman’s contract at F1 rivals Red Bull being valid until 2028.

The German constructor was banking on Verstappen triggering a performance clause within his contract, which would give him the opportunity of discussing terms with another team if he was out of the top three of the drivers’ championship by the start of the summer break.

Verstappen’s P4 finish in Belgium means a move is now ‘out of the question’ for the four-time world champion. He is now 28 points ahead of George Russell in the standings, making it impossible for the Brit to jump him in the event of a perfect weekend from Russell.

The news will surely have a positive impact on Antonelli, who would have had his uncertain future in the back of his mind after another poor result for himself.

Mercedes are also expected to ‘shortly’ announce extensions to Russell and Antonelli’s contracts in another move that should hopefully build the confidence of the 18-year-old.