Unhappy Kimi Antonelli spotted during Bahrain testing in blow to Mercedes preparations

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Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli hasn’t had the easiest start to pre-season testing in Bahrain.

After the Barcelona shakedown suggested that Mercedes were the early favourites for the 2026 F1 season, pre-season testing in Bahrain has brought Toto Wolff’s team back down to earth.

Wolff suggested that Red Bull had the fastest car in Bahrain after watching Max Verstappen on track, and Verstappen’s driving technique might give him an early advantage.

However, there are suggestions that Mercedes might only be saying that to distract from the ongoing discussions about their power unit.

Day 1 in Bahrain and it’s Lando Norris on top! ⏱️

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George Russell had a solid start to running on Wednesday, but Kimi Antonelli had a tougher time in the afternoon session.

A technical issue limited the Italian to 30 laps as he set the 11th-fastest time of the day.

Ted Kravitz and Craig Slater were reporting live from the paddock on Thursday morning when Antonelli should have been in the car preparing for a full day of running.

Unfortunately, they spotted the 19-year-old walking away from the track, and they admitted he ‘didn’t look the happiest’ about the situation.

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

Kimi Antonelli ‘didn’t look the happiest’ as Mercedes testing in Bahrain is disrupted

Kravitz was providing an update on what was happening during testing on Sky Sports (12/2 7:50 am), and said: “This is interesting, by the way, Kimi Antonelli is out of the car.

“So, this is a bit odd, Kimi Antonelli’s meant to be in the car this morning, and now he’s going into the garage. So there’s a stoppage for Mercedes, it seems.”

Slater replied: “Yeah, he didn’t look the happiest, did he?”

Toto Wolff believes Kimi Antonelli can become an F1 champion. Is he wrong?

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Kravitz continued: “It was Kimi this morning and George this afternoon, so something’s happened at Mercedes.”

Slater later suggested that he heard it was ‘a power unit issue’ that Mercedes and Antonelli were dealing with.

Antonelli did a few installation laps at the start of the session, but the Mercedes hadn’t been on the track since.

They weren’t the only team having issues, with Isack Hadjar’s first run in the Red Bull delayed due to a chassis issue.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Kimi Antonelli facing further Bahrain testing issues after frustrating day one

Antonelli isn’t having the best luck at the Bahrain International Circuit following his disrupted running on day one.

Reflecting on his time in the car on Wednesday, he said in his official post-testing debrief: “It was good to be back in the car following the shakedown in Barcelona.

“Unfortunately, we had a suspension issue that interrupted our programme this afternoon, so my running was limited.

“We lost close to two hours of track time, and that has set our programme back. The garage did a great job, though, to fix the problem as quickly as they could, and we were able to complete 30 laps before the end of the day.

“It’s not an ideal start to this first test, so we’re looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow.

“Several of our competitors have looked very strong today, so we are playing catch-up. Our aim is to have a smoother day tomorrow and to add to our learning of the W17.”

Mercedes are already planning updates before heading to Australia with both drivers hoping to secure race wins and potentially a run at the championship this year.

Unfortunately for Antonelli, he’s losing out on precious time to get up to speed in the W17 to try and close the gap to his more experienced teammate.