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Kimi Antonelli may be flourishing at Mercedes in 2026, but last season was a tough year for the Italian, and Nico Rosberg thinks he was close to being dropped.
The 19-year-old made his debut for Mercedes in 2025 as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement. He finished seventh in the standings with three podiums, but his rookie year was far from plain sailing.
The European leg of the season was torrid for Antonelli. From his home race at Imola to the Dutch GP, he scored just 16 points – a podium in Canada and a P10 in Hungary.
Mechanical failures did not help him, but neither did rookie errors and a lack of pace to teammate George Russell. Doubts soon began to swirl around Mercedes’ decision to sign Antonelli, as did rumours about him losing his seat.
Nico Rosberg thinks Kimi Antonelli was ‘very close’ to losing his Mercedes seat, ‘it was so bad what he was doing’
Antonelli was only contracted for 2025, but Toto Wolff opted to keep faith in his young talent and retained him for 2026. That has paid off handsomely, with the Italian leading the championship by 43 points, having won the last four races.
But Rosberg thinks that he came ‘very close’ to losing his seat. His form in Europe was seriously lacking and many were doubting his ability.
He said on the High Performance Podcast: “Look at Kimi Antonelli last year. You only really have one shot. If you fail in the first year and you get kicked out, it’s 95% that your career in F1 is done.
How ‘lucky’ has Kimi Antonelli been so far this season?
“And that’s what Kimi Antonelli was going through last year. He was really so close to being 50/50, whether the team retains him or kicks him out. It was literally, I mean, it was very close.
“Without knowing it, just looking from the outside, it was really touch and go, because it was just so hard to see, is he really going to be able to turn this around and actually perform in a good enough way to be worthy of staying in F1 and with Mercedes?
“Because at times in the season, it was so bad what he was doing. Mistakes and being slow and this and that, it was really struggles.”
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli
How close was Kimi Antonelli to leaving Mercedes in 2026?
While Mercedes did keep Antonelli, there was huge speculation around his future, especially due to Wolff’s pursuit of Max Verstappen.
In fact, it was believed that if the Austrian did sign the Red Bull driver for 2026, then Antonelli would be sent to another team in a loan deal.
What did you think of Kimi Antonelli after his rookie season with Mercedes?
Williams did not want Antonelli as they already had Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. But it was reported that Antonelli was set to join Alpine on loan if Verstappen joined Mercedes.
Franco Colapinto’s future was uncertain heading into 2026 due to his poor form. However, the Argentine retained his seat, and Verstappen stayed at Red Bull, allowing Antonelli to keep his Mercedes seat.
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