Timo Glock tells Kimi Antonelli what he must ‘learn’ as Mercedes admit ‘far from ideal’ situation at Monza

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli is now 16 rounds into his Formula 1 career, yet a run of woe ahead of the Italian Grand Prix raised questions about his position with Mercedes.

The Silver Arrows put Antonelli under immense pressure this term, as Toto Wolff decided to entrust the Bologna boy with replacing seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton. Yet after a promising start to the Italian’s time on the grid, the cracks started to show and have stayed.

Antonelli started the 2025 F1 season by recovering from qualifying P16 due to floor damage by finishing the Australian GP in P4. Mercedes star Antonelli broke Max Verstappen’s record as F1’s youngest Grand Prix leader in Japan, where the teen even set the fastest lap, as well.

But his only highlight over the last nine rounds was Antonelli’s maiden F1 podium with P3 in Canada back in round 10. Jacques Villeneuve even claimed that F1 might be “just too much” for the 19-year-old last Sunday, after Antonelli crashed into Charles Leclerc in the Dutch GP.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli must ‘learn’ how to manage ‘everything’ about being an F1 driver

Antonelli also drew a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane at Zandvoort, on top of his 10-second penalty after crashing into Leclerc. So, Mercedes would have wanted Antonelli to have a clean weekend at Monza, as the Bologna boy has his first Italian GP as an F1 driver.

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

But Antonelli spun during FP2 at Monza and beached his Mercedes W16 in the gravel exiting the second Lesmo on Friday. The home hero’s day came to a very abrupt end, with Antonelli admitting that he pushed “too hard” for the grip levels 10 minutes into a 60-minute session.

The spin followed a similar incident at Zandvoort, as Antonelli caused a red flag in FP1 at the Dutch GP after beaching his car in the gravel at Turn 1. So, while Timo Glock does not doubt Antonelli’s potential, the German does think he still needs to “learn” how to be an F1 driver.

Glock told Sky Germany: “There’s no question that he can drive a car, but there’s more to it than that. He has to learn to deal with everything that goes with it. He now has to try to work his way out of this slump.”

Bradley Lord admits Kimi Antonelli’s Italian GP FP2 spin is ‘far from ideal’ for his Monza hopes

Spins during practice for the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix, plus his collision with Leclerc last Sunday at Zandvoort, even saw Martin Brundle ask Wolff if Mercedes regret giving Antonelli Hamilton’s old seat rather than possibly loaning the 19-year-old to another F1 team in 2025.

Mercedes chief communications officer Bradley Lord also admits that Antonelli’s FP2 spin at Monza is “far from ideal” for his Italian GP hopes. The spin prevented the Italian wonderkid from completing any race simulations, which will now leave him on the back foot on Sunday.

Lord told Sky Germany: “It’s far from ideal, of course. Losing practice, where we need long-run data, is a real shame. Unfortunately, he overstepped the mark a bit.

“There’s no room for error. Kimi’s crash means he loses the opportunity to practice his race pace. That puts him a bit on the back foot for the rest of the weekend.”

Antonelli’s horrors in the Dutch GP denied him a points-scoring Grand Prix finish for only the third time in the nine rounds ahead of this Sunday’s Italian GP. The Mercedes rookie secured P3 in the Canadian GP and P10 in the Hungarian GP, but he fell from P6 to P16 at Zandvoort.