Who slept best last night: Kimi Antonelli

For the first time since joining Formula 1, Kimi Antonelli showed exactly why Toto Wolff believes so much in him

It’s been a challenging summer for Kimi Antonelli. For someone who has only just finished school, it’s hardly easy to feature in one of the world’s biggest sporting events, broadcast live across the globe every second Sunday. Moving countries, facing journalists, being recognised on the street – it’s a lot to take in. And all that might have been slightly easier to handle if things on track had gone better.

Toto Wolff warned everyone in advance: 2025 was supposed to be Antonelli’s learning year – and that almost inevitably involves mistakes. But in Formula 1, no one ever has much patience. Kimi, after all, was the one replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

The first few races went fine, but the European season raised a lot of question marks. The young Italian, whose signing alone created huge expectations, struggled to produce evidence that justified the hype. For much of the world, his talent existed mainly on the basis of ‘Toto’s testimony’. Wolff knows what he’s doing, of course – he’s seen hundreds of karting prodigies and remains convinced that Antonelli is the real deal. But talent alone is never a guarantee.

Antonelli certainly doesn’t lack passion. The kid can tell you all his lap times from different circuits. He genuinely lives and breathes racing. That’s not just a social media narrative, by the way. When Antonelli was asked in Sao Paulo on Thursday whether he remembered his qualifying lap time from Melbourne, he passed the test – though he admitted it wasn’t his best lap ever…

George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Still, to survive in F1, you need a few more qualities. Can Kimi handle pressure? Can he reset after setbacks? His repeated comments about how last year’s Monza crash knocked him off balance could easily have been read as a sign of fragility.

He spoke about that crash in the Mercedes/WhatsApp series documenting his preparation for F1. It was clearly a turning point for him – and watching his reaction, you could understand why. But then again, someone like Max Verstappen wouldn’t let a single mistake haunt him for months, would he?

Young and passionate as he is, Antonelli didn’t really look like someone able to handle the mounting pressure. Even Wolff, at one stage, seemed to ease off on constantly defending his protege’s performance. The months-long saga of Toto’s supposed interest in Verstappen hardly helped either – nor did sharing a garage with George Russell, who’s been delivering so many outstanding weekends.

Confirmation that Kimi would stay with the team for another year came as no surprise. But you can’t blame the Italian for quietly wondering whether Toto would still have kept him if Verstappen really had become available. Some say that Wolff’s determination to make it work with Antonelli stems from missing the chance to sign Max 10 years ago…

Would he still want the ‘copy’ had he managed to get hold of the ‘original’?

Lando Norris, McLaren, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Mario Renzi - Formula 1 - Getty Images

And yet, things began to improve as soon as F1 left Europe. Antonelli scored a solid fourth place in Baku – still behind Russell, but a step in the right direction. The last couple of weekends, though, started to show what Wolff had been seeing all along. Kimi was strong in Mexico, but it was Sao Paulo where Antonelli was the better of the two Mercedes drivers across the entire weekend.

He’ll surely remember those two qualifying laps that earned him front-row starts for both the sprint and the main race – now, for all the right reasons. While many drivers, including his experienced team-mate, struggled to get tyres into the right window, Antonelli was one of the very few – alongside Lando Norris – who consistently looked quick. And his races matched that same level of performance – almost flawless.

That result in Interlagos meant a lot to him. Despite being born in 2006, Antonelli is a Senna fan. On Wednesday, he visited the Morumbi cemetery to read a book next to Ayrton’s grave. Having that quiet time before the race – unlike at Imola or Monza – surely didn’t hurt.

On Sunday in Sao Paulo, Antonelli did not merely execute a perfect race. His final laps, defending from Verstappen, were the missing proof that his talent comes with racecraft and composure under pressure. Even Verstappen himself was generous with his praise in the press conference.

“In a rookie season, you go through quite an emotional roller coaster at times,” Verstappen said of Antonelli. “Some weekends go better than others. Sometimes you have high hopes, sometimes that doesn’t work out. You make mistakes. You have good weekends. But at the end of the day, that’s all part of the learning curve. You have to make mistakes also to become a better driver, even in Formula 1.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

“And I think so far this year for Kimi has been a big learning curve, but at the same time he’s very fast. I always saw that from every category he raced in. And for him to have a weekend like he had here – it was just super strong. He fully deserved to be on this podium today, and it gives you a good confidence boost.”

This was by far the best weekend for Antonelli in F1. Now he just needs to learn how to race in Europe...