‘No one’ in the F1 paddock could understand one Kimi Antonelli decision at the Bahrain Grand Prix

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Kimi Antonelli endured arguably his toughest weekend in F1 to date at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The rookie finished outside the points for the first time with P11.

The Italian has been incredibly impressive for Mercedes since replacing Lewis Hamilton. His transition to F1 has been seamless, as his aggressive driving has made him a top talent already on the track.

Antonelli finished fourth after starting P16 on his F1 debut in Melbourne, before finishing sixth in China and Japan. Scoring 30 points from the opening three rounds, the 18-year-old has caught many by surprise.

Jaime Alguersuari says Antonelli’s data did not ‘add up’ at Suzuka as he was close to teammate George Russell throughout the race. The Italian is already matching the Brit in race pace, proving he is a serious competitor.

However, the Bahrain Grand Prix did not go exactly to plan. While Russell claimed his third podium of the year and his best result thus far with second, Antonelli came home empty-handed.

‘No one’ in the F1 paddock understood why Kimi Antonelli went on the soft tyre after the safety car in Bahrain

The weekend at Sakhir had got off to a good start for Antonelli as he initially went top of the time sheets in Q3. Oscar Piastri, Russell and Charles Leclerc beat his time of 1:30:213 to leave the Mercedes driver fourth.

Russell and Antonelli were both handed one-place grid penalties after Mercedes sent them into the fast lane of the pits before a restart time – following Esteban Ocon’s crash in Q2 – was confirmed. Nevertheless, third and fifth gave the duo a great chance to impress after a strong qualifying.

David Coulthard paid a great compliment to Antonelli after his qualifying display, but the Italian could not take advantage of his grid slot. The 18-year-old was caught out by the timing of the safety car after Yuki Tsunoda collided with Carlos Sainz, sending damage from the latter’s car onto the track.

The misfortune of the safety car did not help, but many people in the F1 paddock were perplexed as to why Antonelli chose to pit for soft tyres during this period. Journalist Stuart Codling said via the Autosport YouTube channel that ‘no one’ could understand the decision.

“Kimi Antonelli outside the top 10, sort of scuppered by the safety car timing and weird decision to put some soft tyres on, which no one seemed to understand and people still can’t understand.”

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Mercedes are loving Kimi Antonelli after four races in F1

Antonelli wanted to exploit an aggressive setup in Bahrain, having not asked for one in Japan. While it seemingly paid off in qualifying, the safety car and the bizarre pit stop hampered his race.

Nevertheless, the Italian is still sixth in the championship heading into the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. He is currently five points ahead of his predecessor Hamilton as the Silver Arrows lull over their new signing’s talent.

Mercedes are excited to be working with Antonelli as the 18-year-old has demonstrated great maturity already. The Brackley-based outfit have built a fantastic support network around the Italian – and it is paying off handsomely.

Peter Bonnington says that Antonelli’s feedback is exceptional after just four races in F1. The team are loving the Italian already, and there is certainly more to come throughout 2025.