What Peter Bonnington did behind the scenes at Mercedes that led to Kimi Antonelli’s 2025 upturn

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Legendary Mercedes race engineer Peter Bonnington has been working hard with Kimi Antonelli to help him find his feet in Formula 1.

The 2025 season will have been quite a change for the 50-year-old, going from working with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton to a rookie. It was certainly going to be challenging for the pair, and that is exactly how it has played out.

Antonelli initially impressed with Mercedes, finishing fourth from P16 on his debut at Melbourne and grabbing his first pole position for the Sprint in Miami. But the European leg of the season saw a dramatic drop in performance.

Starting from his home race at Imola, the 19-year-old scored points only once in the next seven races. While that result was his first F1 podium in Canada, he just could not find consistency in Europe, with mechanical failures and rookie mistakes hampering him.

This drop in performance could not have come at a worse time as Mercedes debated their 2026 driver line-up – Wolff had an agreement to loan Antonelli out as he tried to sign Max Verstappen. However, with his future now secure at the Silver Arrows, his form has been revived.

Peter Bonnington privately scolded Kimi Antonelli behind the scenes at Monza

The rookie is now beginning to score points more regularly, finishing in the top 10 six times in the last eight races, and is getting closer to his teammate George Russell. A factor in this has been Bonnington’s harsh words behind the scenes.

Journalist and presenter Simon Lazenby spoke to the Mercedes race engineer, and he shared that Bonnington scolded Antonelli after his race at Monza. He had received a five-second time penalty for an incident with Alex Albon and finished ninth.

It was the criticism he needed to improve his form: “All of a sudden, it’s really interesting actually. Me and Karun (Chandhok) were talking to Pete Bonnington, uncle Pete, or uncle Bono, as I think he’s getting called now,” said Lazenby via The F1 Show.

“He has a little arm around Kimi most of the time, but he did say that after Monza, he gave him a b———. He said only occasionally does he give him a b———, but he did so after Monza.

“And it gave him the kick up the backside, and ever since then, he’s showing signs. He says all the little things, it’s very small things that they’re working on, and that list is getting less and less, and he is making fewer errors, and certainly you can see that on track.”

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

Kimi Antonelli achieved his best F1 finish in Brazil, but he still has more to prove

Antonelli’s improvements were evidenced at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he enjoyed his best weekend in F1 to date. Qualifying on the front row for the Sprint and main race, he held his own to finish second in both races.

He fought hard with Lando Norris for the victory on Saturday, before Antonelli valiantly defended from Verstappen and held onto P2 on Sunday. His impressive weekend now means he has surpassed Lewis Hamilton’s record for the most points scored by a rookie in a season.

However, despite his performances, Damon Hill is ‘still not sure’ about Antonelli. The Italian does have a lot more to prove, given how inconsistent he has been throughout 2025 and how far behind Russell he has been for most of the year.

Antonelli has beaten his teammate in the last two races, indicating that he is moving in the right direction. But Mercedes will want to see this continue, especially as they head into the 2026 F1 regulations, where they hope to be title contenders.