As the teams and drivers return to the legendary Silverstone track for the F1 British GP, Kimi Antonelli faces outside pressure to perform amid Mercedes chaotic rumours. The rookie driver received his seat after Lewis Hamilton left the team and joined Ferrari. Antonelli set his focus on proving why he deserves his place, despite his young age and lack of experience
Out of all the rookies that joined in 2025, the Italian is currently the only one who managed to secure a spot in the top 10. This is an incredible achievement for Antonelli, who is seventh in the standings, just behind 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The strong Mercedes line-up, consisting of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, has them entering the F1 British GP weekend third in the Constructors’.
Antonelli’s trust in Mercedes
The 18-year-old Italian had a debut year comparable to the best in the sport so far. As far as the Mercedes rookie is concerned, he is overall satisfied with his season. His third place in the Canadian GP is his greatest highlight yet. Ahead of the F1 British GP in his print media session, Antonelli settled all assumptions of him getting in contact with other teams.
“If I’m talking with other teams? No, no, no. You know I got this opportunity from Mercedes, and there’s no talks with anyone else going on.”
Moreover, he went on to emphasise that his focus is on minimising any incidents and mistakes. Kimi Antonelli stated his lack of worry during the recent turmoil over a possible collaboration between Mercedes and Max Verstappen:
“You know, I think I’m pretty – I’m very happy where I am. And I’m also quite sure with the team, and also what they want from me. So I think, now in my case is I need to just do my best, minimise all the mistakes and then try to deliver the best that was possible. But I know the team has a lot of trust in me, so yeah, I’m not really worried.”
Overview of his maiden year
Despite his good results, the Italian driver had to go through a learning process. No one who joins the Formula 1 grid is without mistakes. Antonelli went over his 2025 debut, highlighting how quickly time seemed to pass. Furthermore, the Mercedes rookie explained his disappointment in his early races and his approach to them:
“First of all, it’s great, we are on race 12. It went by so quick. I think I’ve had quite a big highs and some lows as well.
“I think I’m decently happy, not super happy because I think on my side I did a bit too many mistakes, and I think my approach, especially at the start of the season, was not the best. But overall, I think nowadays in F1 it’s super tight, only you look at qualifying, the gaps are super close, and that explains and really tells you how much you have to be on it, you have to be on top of the game and looking for every detail.”
Additionally, Antonelli’s reflections saw him explain the process of racing at such a high level. The Italian learned from his mistakes, despite feeling unhappy with some of his past races. As the half-season mark is approaching with the F1 British GP, Kimi Antonelli will focus all his knowledge and skill on the second half.
“Because as soon as you start a bit off, you’re immediately on the back foot. And to recover is quite difficult. I think we had some really good moments, and as I said before, some bad ones, but I think I’m understanding a lot more as well, and I’m more in control of the situation as well. I think this will help as well for the second half of the season. But definitely I’m not super happy, but at the same time I’m not disappointed with this first half.”
