After a disappointing end to his Silverstone weekend, Mercedes F1’s Kimi Antonelli will look to bounce back at the 2026 F1 Belgian GP. The British GP marked his second non-scoring weekend of the season and his second in three races, with both instances coming in circumstances largely outside of his control.
Heading into the weekend, the Italian remains atop the Drivers’ Standings with 179 points, with a 25-point gap over his teammate George Russell. Speaking in Thursday’s press conference, the Mercedes driver reflected on his Silverstone weekend, where he secured a Sprint win and pole position for Sunday’s main race, and highlighted the positives he could take away despite a challenging run of races.
“It was a very strong weekend overall, so that was the positive. We were up there in every session, and that was a positive, to see that the pace is good and the momentum is still there despite a few difficulties that we had previously. So, yeah, that’s a real positive.”
“On my side, I just need to deliver and try to maximise all the things that I have in my control. The rest, I cannot really do much about it, other than just try to drive as fast as I can and keep delivering in performances.”
“It’s very frustrating, but this is motorsport” says Antonelli on last three weekends
The 19 year-old’s run of five consecutive race wins came to an end in Barcelona after a technical issue forced him to retire from the race. A similar situation unfolded in Silverstone, where a front-left wheel shield failure ended his day prematurely while he looked set to challenge Charles Leclerc for victory.
“Of course, it’s very frustrating, but this is motorsport, so things like this happen. Of course, I think now it was enough, but it’s part of motorsport. As I said, these are external factors that you cannot really control.”, he admitted.
“So I just need to maximise every opportunity I get, try to maximise what I have in control, and then we’ll see what the rest will be. But it’s part of the sport, and the team are doing a tremendous job to make sure that all these issues are not happening again.”
Antonelli expecting Ferrari to remain competitive at 2026 F1 Belgian GP
“Our car has been quick at every race, so for sure I’d expect us to be up there. But Ferrari were also very strong at Silverstone.”, Antonelli said when asked about his expectations for the 2026 F1 Belgian GP.
“It was a surprise, but to be fair, we always kind of expected them to be up there because, especially when it comes to qualifying, they seem to find some extra time. So definitely we think they can be up there this weekend.”
While McLaren have confirmed they will bring a significant upgrade package this weekend and again in Hungary, Antonelli is also not ruling out Red Bull from the fight at Spa-Francorchamps. Expecting Ferrari to remain competitive and challenge at the front of the grid, the Italian stressed the importance of focusing on himself while remaining confident in Mercedes’ package this weekend.
“Then, of course, you cannot write off Red Bull and McLaren because they can always come out and be fast as well. As always, I’ll just focus on myself, but we’re pretty confident that the package is going to be good because it has been good all throughout this year.”
