Naomi Schiff admits she finds it ‘hard to believe’ what Kimi Antonelli just said after ‘horrible’ Belgian Grand Prix

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Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli is quickly discovering how brutal the world of Formula 1 can be.

The Belgian Grand Prix is typically a circuit that most drivers enjoy, even if the notoriously changeable weather conditions make it a challenge across a race weekend.

It should come as no surprise that Max Verstappen snatched victory in the Sprint Race, considering he won three Grand Prix on the bounce at Spa between 2021 and 2023.

Oscar Piastri then asserted his dominance on Sunday and extended his lead in the drivers’ championship as a result.

For Mercedes, it’s a weekend they won’t look back on too fondly.

George Russell did well to finish fifth in the Grand Prix, and he briefly looked like he could challenge Verstappen and even Charles Leclerc for a podium finish as the track began to dry.

However, for teammate Kimi Antonelli, it’s a weekend that he won’t look back on too fondly after failing to score points for the fifth time in the last six races.

Jacques Villeneuve has told Antonelli he needs a reset, which will come during the summer break, but Naomi Schiff isn’t convinced that his lack of confidence is the real problem he’s facing right now.

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

Naomi Schiff finds Kimi Antonelli’s stance on Mercedes issues ‘hard to believe’

Reflecting on Antonelli’s weekend on Sky Sports F1 (27/7 6:01 pm), Schiff was discussing what was going wrong for the teenager.

She said: “Just to go back to Kimi for a second there, he keeps saying that he’s struggling to find the confidence, but I find that slightly difficult to believe because you’ve seen moments like when he went out in SQ1, he was pushing very hard.

“So, he’s got confidence. I mean, we saw a brilliant overtaking manoeuvre from him today, brilliant.

“It looked confident initially, it was a bit aggressive, it didn’t pay off in the end. But I think the problem is that overall, both of those drivers are suffering with the balance of the car.

“This weekend, particularly, I think they all expected to take a step forward. To come to these cooler conditions, this is where they would shine.

“And, unfortunately, it’s just been a horrible weekend for both of them. So, as you said, back to the drawing board for Mercedes.

“I know they’ve been struggling a lot in this regulation era, they don’t have a long time to go.

“But in any case, they don’t have a long way to go to the end of the season, Mercedes, and then next year, the whispers are, they could be the ones on top!”

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Kimi Antonelli admits trying ‘something different’ at the Belgian Grand Prix didn’t work

Antonelli was downbeat earlier in the weekend, but proved to be slightly more positive by the time he spoke to the press after the race on Sunday.

He said: “We opted to change the set-up in anticipation of a wet race today and, during those first few laps, that proved beneficial.

“The car felt good, and I was able to make some overtakes and progress up the field.

“Unfortunately, the track dried quickly, and for the rest of the race, we were losing out on the straights to some of the cars we were racing.

“Despite being able to stick close to those we were racing, we were unable to get any overtakes done.

“That meant we opted to try something different and went to the two-stop, but the result was similar as we got stuck behind the Haas of Esteban Ocon.”

Ralf Schumacher claimed Mercedes should think about loaning Antonelli to Alpine, although it’s very unlikely that Toto Wolff would entertain that scenario.

Ultimately, Antonelli is an extremely young driver being put into a high-pressure situation, and it’s going to take him time to unlock the full potential of his car.

But Schiff is right, Russell was also complaining about Mercedes’ performance, and Antonelli should take solace from the fact that his teammate is also unhappy with the balance of the car.