Antonelli reveals how double 'kick in the pants’ ignited vital reset

Kimi Antonelli is undoubtedly one of the brightest young talents on the Formula 1 grid this year, but the Italian’s uprising has been anything but straightforward. And at Monza last September, the Mercedes rookie hit rock bottom on home soil.

What followed, he now admits, was a full-force reality check – delivered not by the Brackley squad’s engineers or performance analysts, but by the two people who know him best: his father and team boss Toto Wolff.

The dressing-downs were blunt. The message stung. But they were exactly what he needed.

Bizarrely, Antonelli’s early-season flashes of pace vanished the moment F1 rolled into Europe. Instead of the composed prodigy seen in the opening flyaway races, Mercedes suddenly had an apprentice who struggled to settle in, couldn’t extract performance, and couldn’t stop mistakes from multiplying.

Lost in Europe

The numbers tell a brutal story: just three points scored in nine European rounds compared to a whopping 119 everywhere else this season. As Antonelli admits, the contrast is jarring.

“That looks very strange. I thought I could use my experience in Europe,” Antonelli admitted, speaking to Blick’s Roger Benoit. “And then I was hit with reality, which surprised me.

“I expected things that didn't happen, things that were completely different each time. I quickly learned that every race weekend unfolds differently.

“I had to learn to immediately incorporate many scenarios I hadn't encountered before into my routine. I had to manage my energy during those long days.

“There were the marketing appearances, the media, the discussions with the engineers, and then, most importantly, staying focused and moving quickly in the Mercedes.”

Mechanical troubles didn’t help – but they also didn’t tell the whole story.

“We had some mechanical problems, and with the new suspension, I simply couldn't find a rhythm,” he said. “I didn't feel comfortable in the cockpit because nothing seemed to fit together anymore.

“That made me even more nervous. I constantly put myself under pressure, overdid it, made mistakes I never normally made.”

The Post-Monza Intervention

By the time the paddock reached Monza, his home race, Antonelli’s season looked in danger of imploding. Instead, the fallout from that disastrous weekend became the turning point – because two key figures refused to sugarcoat the situation.

“My boss, Toto Wolff, and my father. They each gave me a good kick in the pants after Monza,” Antonelli revealed.

“Those verbal rebukes and pieces of advice hurt, but I needed that reset. I had to refocus on the important things to get back to my old form.”

The tough love worked. Antonelli says the intervention snapped him out of a mental spiral and forced him to reset his approach.

“I never would have gotten out of that mess on my own. A long meeting with my engineers also helped,” he explained.

The result? A different driver emerged once F1 left Europe behind. His pace returned immediately on the flyaways, culminating in a superb double P2 finish – Sprint and main race – in São Paulo last time out.

Now, he heads to Las Vegas with genuine momentum and growing expectations.

Antonelli may only be 19, but he has already learned one of F1’s harshest lessons: even the most gifted rookies sometimes need a good push – sometimes a hard one – to rediscover who they are behind the wheel.

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