Kimi Antonelli has had a mixed start to the first half of the 2025 F1 season with Mercedes. The young Italian driver has had some highs and lows thrown at him during the first 12 races, including a first podium and pole.
Antonelli Reflects on his season so far
At the F1 British Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli was asked to reflect on the first half of his season with Mercedes and asked how he would assess his performance in his rookie campaign.
“First of all, it’s crazy we are already on race twelve. It went by so quickly.
“I think I’ve had quite a bit of highs and some lows as well.”
He was forced to retire from his home race at the F1 Imola GP on lap 46 after experiencing a throttle issue on the Mercedes-AMG F1 W16.
There has been a lot of bad luck but also the odd error from the former Italian F4 and FRECA champion. Crashing in Monaco qualifying was one moment to forget.
“I think I’m decently happy.
“Not super happy because, I think on my side I did a bit too many mistakes.
“I think my approach, especially at the start of the season was not the best.”
“It’s super tight” Antonelli discusses how close performance is this season
The 2025 season has been one of the closest seasons in F1 in the recent years, Antonelli discussed how one mistake will put you “on the back foot” with the field behind McLaren incredibly close on a Saturday afternoon.
“Overall, I think nowadays in F1 it’s super tight.
“You look at qualifying, the gaps are super close. 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.
“Because as soon as you start a bit off, you’re immediately on the back foot.
“To recover, it’s quite difficult.”
During the Sprint qualifying at the F1 Miami GP, Antonelli made history by becoming the youngest ever polesitter in Formula One.
How Kimi Antonelli will use his performance to help him in the second half of the year
Kimi Antonelli was also the first rookie to step on the podium in the first half of the 2025 F1 season. Antonelli took 3rd place in Canada after brilliantly absorbing pressure from the McLarens before they came to blows.
Kimi Antonelli dissussed how he would use his performance during the first 12 races to help him for the next half of the season.
“I think we’ve had some really good moments, and as I said before, some bad ones.
“But, I’m understanding a lot more as well and I’m more in control of the situation.
“I think this will help for the second half of the season.
“I’m not super happy but at the same time I’m not disappointed with this first half.”
Kimi Antonelli ended the first half of the 2025 season on a low after DNFing at the F1 British GP. However, the rookie is still P7 in the Drivers’ Championship and gaining more experience at every race.
