Rubens Barrichello ‘shocked’ by Kimi Antonelli radio message heard during his debut Mercedes season

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Kimi Antonelli had his fair share of drama during his maiden Formula 1 season with Mercedes in 2025.

Huge expectation was placed on the Italian’s shoulders after replacing Lewis Hamilton. Initially, it looked like he was coping with the pressure, going from 16th to fourth on debut in Melbourne and grabbing his maiden pole in Miami for the Sprint race.

But when the season headed to Europe, Antonelli lost confidence as he faced difficulty with the W16. Mechanical retirements, as well as individual errors, left him without points in all but two rounds between Imola and Zandvoort.

Do any of these drivers need to change their ways in 2026?

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The 19-year-old did grab his maiden podium in Canada, but his struggles on European soil damaged his season. He produced a strong recovery in the second half of the season, however, grabbing two podiums in Las Vegas and Sao Paulo and finishing six points behind Hamilton in the standings.

Antonelli knows he cannot go ‘missing’ for several races in 2026, especially when Mercedes are rumoured to be in a powerful position under the new regulations. Rubens Barrichello has also noticed something from the rookie that he needs to address next year.

Rubens Barrichello left ‘shocked’ by Kimi Antonelli’s angry message to Pierre Gasly over his radio

Speaking on the Flow Podcast, the Brazilian recalled a moment Antonelli had with Pierre Gasly during a practice session in 2025. The Alpine driver had got in his way during the session, resulting in an angry radio message from the Italian.

Barrichello was surprised by Antonelli’s message, calling it ‘too strong’ and something that he cannot do at that moment.

“Go ahead, go ahead,” he said. “Of course you go ahead, but you go ahead and in a way that the guy understands that you’re there at that moment, but you don’t call the guy names, you know?

“Like, I was shocked by Antonelli, for example, a young lad, he had just joined and a guy got in his way on the track.

“I think it was Gasly in practice, he said: ‘What is this idiot doing?’ Man, that’s too strong, you understand?”

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Could Kimi Antonelli emulate Rubens Barrichello’s F1 career one day?

Marc Surer says Antonelli has the ‘easiest’ job of the 2025 rookies as he got to walk into one of the strongest teams and fastest cars on the grid.

However, this year has proved that he has much to learn, and he knows it. Antonelli says he needs ‘experience’ in 2026 to improve, which will certainly come with time and support from his network around him.

With the new regulations, the teenager will be under pressure to deliver results in 2026, especially as Mercedes have been ambiguous about how long his new contract is. Antonelli might find himself in another setting, and possibly replicating Barrichello.

Antonelli has not ruled out joining Ferrari at some point in his career. The irony is that he is currently in the team that Barrichello once called Honda and later Brawn, before Mercedes bought the latter in 2010.