Kimi Antonelli heads to the F1 Canadian GP eager to bounce back after a demanding European triple-header. The Mercedes rookie faced a steep learning curve through Imola, Monaco, and Barcelona—races that tested his composure, performance, and adaptability.
“It’s been quite a tough triple header on my side,” Antonelli admitted on Thursday in the press conference. “Performance-wise I didn’t do that well, and then we had also a couple of issues.”
At his home race in Imola, Antonelli struggled to handle the packed schedule and emotional weight of performing in front of Italian fans. “Imola was incredible in terms of how busy it was and also time in front of the home crowd, and I definitely didn’t manage things the best way,” he said.
“So overall, it’s been quite tough—not the way I wanted. But luckily, after these three difficult weekends, we had a week off and now I feel ready to be back on track tomorrow.”
C6 compound leaves Antonelli searching for consistency
Antonelli pointed to Pirelli’s C6 tyre as a key source of his difficulties. Both Imola and Monaco featured the softest compound in F1’s range, and Antonelli couldn’t extract consistent performance from it.
“I’ve been struggling to find the consistency in the tyre,” he explained. “The C6 seems to be a super picky tyre, and it’s really difficult to put it in the right window already from the out lap.”
The inconsistency disrupted his rhythm and eroded his confidence. “In FP3 in Imola, we were up there,” he recalled. “And then in qualifying I suddenly lost five or six tenths compared to FP3. That took some confidence away.”
Barcelona offered a glimmer of progress
Despite suffering a dramatic engine failure that triggered a late-race safety car in Spain, Antonelli managed to take a step forward.
“Barcelona felt nice because I started to get back into the rhythm,” he said. “But at the same time, especially at the start of the session, it took me too long to get going. That was also because I had two really difficult qualifying sessions in the previous two events.”
The lack of early momentum, combined with tyre inconsistency, remained his biggest obstacle across the triple-header.
With the C6 returning this weekend in Montreal, Antonelli and Mercedes took the off-week to regroup. He spent time in the simulator, breaking down data and refining his approach.
“I spent a couple of days at the factory doing some sim work and also trying to analyse the C6—analyse when it went well, why I was able to extract the performance, and when it went badly, what I did differently,” he said.
Antonelli now feels better prepared for the specific challenges the F1 Canadian GP presents. “Obviously, Montréal is a completely different track—close tarmac, a lot of low speed, and also quite cold eventually,” he added. “So I’ve been trying to really work on that in order to have a better idea, so I know how to behave better, especially this weekend.”
Opportunity to rebuild momentum
Antonelli’s raw talent remains clear, but the past three races exposed the challenges of life as a rookie in F1. With key lessons absorbed and a targeted reset in place, the F1 Canadian GP gives Mercedes driver Antonelli a clean slate.
