– Kimi Antonelli does not give himself top marks for his first half of the season. When asked how he would rate his season so far on a scale from 1 to 10, the answer from the World Championship leader is: “I would say 8.5 out of 10 points.”
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In doing so, the Mercedes driver admits that despite his spectacular winning streak and numerous pole positions, he has made one or two mistakes. First, the 19-year-old brings up the FP3 at the season opener in Melbourne. “That was not good,” says Antonelli, “because I almost missed qualifying.”
Shortly before the end of the session, Antonelli lost the car at the exit of the first corner combination. If the Silver Arrows crew had not managed to repair his damaged car in time, Antonelli would have started the first race of the season from the very back. In the end, the Bologna-born Mercedes driver started from the front row and finished in second place.
“Then I would mention Japan,” continues the World Championship leader. “Yes, I won in Japan, but my start was really bad. Obviously, we stretched my stint a bit longer and then got lucky with the safety car.”
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Photo gallery: Where Kimi Antonelli lost the most points in the 2026 World Championship battle
“Then there were the track limits in the Miami sprint and qualifying in Barcelona,” explains Antonelli. In Miami, the Mercedes driver lost two positions due to track limit violations, while in Barcelona he could not prevail against his teammate George Russell.
Finally, Antonelli brings up qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. While Russell used his experience to secure pole position despite a yellow flag, Antonelli was too cautious and lost the chance for the top spot.
Nevertheless, the 19-year-old remains unchallenged at the top of the World Championship standings ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. With five wins and 179 points to his name, Antonelli is exactly 25 points ahead of his teammate Russell.
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