– Given Kimi Antonelli’s strong performances in the 2026 Formula 1 season, it is easy to forget that the Italian just celebrated his 20th birthday in August. Accordingly, Mercedes was cautious, according to their own statement, when they promoted Antonelli to Formula 1 in 2025 at the age of just 18.
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“We proceeded very carefully and prudently when it came to supporting Kimi in his entry into Formula 1. This is a huge step for any driver, especially given the expectations that come with driving for Mercedes,” explains deputy team principal Bradley Lord.
Antonelli completed his first training sessions for Mercedes in Formula 1 at the end of 2024 and was brought directly into the factory team in 2025 as Lewis Hamilton’s successor. At that time, the Italian had only completed one season in Formula 2, having skipped Formula 3 entirely before that.
“That’s why we made sure he was not overloaded – neither by marketing commitments nor by PR activities at the racetrack or other events – but that all of this was handled as smoothly as possible,” Lord explains.
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He reveals: “We often tell the drivers: ‘Look, we can’t make you faster with these things, but if we get it wrong, we can definitely slow you down.'” Antonelli experienced this at the start of the 2025 season.
After his first home race in Imola, the then 18-year-old admitted that he had taken on too much off the track that weekend. “I could feel it when I got into the car. I wasn’t as mentally present as usual,” said Antonelli.
Lord: “Formula 1 has more than just the technical side”
“I spent a lot of time with other people – not with my engineer, but with friends and also with guests who attended the race,” he revealed at the time and admitted: “I spent too much energy engaging with people, and then I didn’t have enough left for driving.”
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Mercedes actually wanted to avoid exactly that. “So we made sure we didn’t do anything that could possibly slow him down. We help him handle things that can be distracting as smoothly as possible,” emphasizes Lord.
“For everyone on the team, whether in communications, marketing, sales, or engineering, performance and lap times come first, and that always takes priority,” stresses the deputy team principal, who explains: “Formula 1 has more than just the technical side.”
“That’s a luxury you have in junior series. But Formula 1 also places other demands, and so it is our job to help [the drivers] balance that,” says Lord.
He also says about Antonelli: “It is also worth mentioning that he not only sets very high standards for himself, but his father and family also expect the very best from him.” Antonelli himself says he “learned a lot” from his problems at the Imola weekend in 2025.
A year later, he has a good chance of becoming the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history.
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