Mercedes deputy group principal Bradley Lord has given a number of causes behind Kimi Antonelli’s rise right into a Components 1 title contender this season.
Antonelli endured a troublesome rookie marketing campaign final yr as F1’s third-youngest driver in historical past, having bypassed F3 to spend only one yr in F2 earlier than becoming a member of probably the most profitable groups on the earth championship – courtesy of Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes for Ferrari.
The Italian teen was vastly outperformed by team-mate George Russell however has reversed that dynamic as F1 switched to new technical rules – to the extent that he’s main the 2026 drivers’ standings on the summer season break, having received six out of 11 grands prix, together with 5 in a row.
“I have been requested a number of instances if I might been shocked,” Lord commented. “And I assume no and sure is the reply.
Bradley Lord, Deputy Staff Principal, Mercedes AMG F1 Staff
Photograph by: Andy Hone/ LAT Pictures through Getty Pictures
“We signed Kimi and we took the choice to convey Kimi into the group as a result of we believed in his potential. Nevertheless it’s additionally simple to see a driver in simply his second season in Components 1 performing with a lot consistency and with an actual, calm maturity is extremely spectacular.
“By that troublesome first season, it is virtually like he managed to do a number of seasons’ value of studying in a single, after which that is all consolidated over the winter.
“I am certain there’s additionally to some extent the reset issue of recent rules, which means each driver is on a steep studying curve with new automobiles and new energy models and that appears over the sphere to have seen a re-balancing between newer drivers within the sport and older drivers as properly within the groups the place you’ll be able to see these pairings.
“Kimi’s clearly executed and continues to do an unimaginable job, and also you see his confidence and his self-confidence constructing from weekend to weekend, not in a manner that he is getting carried away with something, his toes are very firmly on the bottom and stored very firmly on the bottom by his household and contained in the group as properly. You possibly can simply see his self-belief rising and that is actually, actually spectacular.”
Increasing on how Antonelli bounced again from that troublesome 2025 season, Lord continued: “I feel he discovered the tactic that labored for him with the intention to get probably the most from the group, perceive the trouble that’s wanted forward of the weekend with the intention to arrive ready – as a result of monitor time is such a scarce and invaluable commodity, notably in a calendar the place we’re seeing ever extra dash races, and due to this fact it is an FP1 and then you definitely’re straight right into a timed session, a aggressive session and such reasonably than a free apply session.
Kimi Antonelli, Peter Bonnington
Photograph by: Reginald Mathalone / NurPhoto through Getty Pictures
“It was a extremely helpful reset round Baku time for him to essentially redouble his efforts with Bono [race engineer Peter Bonnington] and the remainder of the group round him, with the regularity of the visits to the sim and the depth and depth of the work there, for him to see the chance that was there for him to seize and to take. And he is taking it with each fingers.”
What additionally contributed to this upturn was Mercedes’ method to shelter Antonelli from strain and media frenzy as a lot as potential, with classes discovered from a 2024 Monza FP1 outing the place the very eager teen crashed the F1 automotive on his first flying lap – he positively wasn’t holding again.
“We have been very cautious and really considered with how we have tried to help Kimi’s introduction to Components 1,” Lord added. “It is an enormous step for any driver, notably with the expectation that comes with driving for Mercedes, and so serving to him not be overworked and overloaded with advertising and marketing commitments or PR stuff on the monitor and different occasions however managing that in as easy a manner as potential.
“We regularly say to the drivers, ‘Look, we won’t make you quicker with these things, but when we get it unsuitable we will positively gradual you down’.”
Nevertheless, when it was urged {that a} youthful Antonelli may need been ‘extra adaptable’ than Russell to get probably the most of F1’s new equipment, Lord swiftly dismissed that view.
“No, I do not assume both of the drivers has been set of their methods or something apart from fully open-minded about tips on how to get the most effective out of those automobiles,” he insisted. “The flexibility to adapt and to be agile and versatile is at all times a key energy of any high driver, and each Kimi and George have that means and functionality as properly.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, George Russell, Mercedes
Photograph by: Steven Tee / LAT Pictures through Getty Pictures
“These are automobiles the place – and it is a method the place you may get a bit bit misplaced generally in a few of the complexities of it – the enter and the recommendation has been simply to maintain it easy, consider the driving, getting the tyres in the suitable place, doing the bits that each racing driver at all times must do properly and the programs, then do the educational they should do and help and ship in an optimum manner as properly.
“Clearly when issues aren’t fairly working proper, that may get fairly complicated and fairly sophisticated, however I feel Kimi’s been capable of strip away a whole lot of the noise truly and actually concentrate on the necessities, concentrate on the core elements of what he must do, after which that creates the house for the engineers to concentrate on the set-up and the optimisation of all the opposite programs as properly, so it has been a extremely good steadiness of effort between these various things.”
Further reporting by Oleg Karpov and Roberto Chinchero
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