Antonelli reveals fear of losing Mercedes seat during dark 2025 rookie slump

Kimi Antonelli has revealed he came close to a crisis of confidence during his 2025 Mercedes debut, admitting that undenied rumours of a move to Alpine or Williams left him fearing his F1 career could be derailed before it had truly begun.

The Italian teenager was fast-tracked onto the grid by Mercedes, skipping Formula 3 and completing just one season of F2 before replacing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton for 2025. The pressure was immense, and while Antonelli showed flashes of brilliance — a sprint pole in Miami and three podiums — his season was undermined by costly errors and a lack of consistency. He scored points in only nine of the final 18 races, finished seventh in the standings, and ended the year 169 points behind team-mate George Russell. At one stage, team principal Toto Wolff publicly described Antonelli’s Monza weekend as “underwhelming”.

“At one point in the season things on track weren’t going the way I wanted,” Antonelli told Autosport. “On top of that, rumours started circulating about a possible move to Alpine or Williams — rumours that were never denied. In situations like that, doubts inevitably arise, and there’s a risk of falling into a negative spiral.”

The 2026 regulation overhaul, which introduced a near 50-50 split between electrical and internal combustion power and placed a premium on battery management, gave Antonelli a chance to reset. He threw himself into an intensive winter simulator programme designed both to develop the new car and to master the demands of the revised power unit.

“During the winter break we worked a lot on that aspect,” he said. “We completed an intensive simulator programme, both to develop the car and to better understand this power unit, and become familiar with battery management. A large part of what I’m able to do today comes directly from the preparation work that started last year.”

The results have been transformative. Antonelli claimed his fifth consecutive victory at last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, with Russell noting that the nimbler 2026 cars suit his team-mate’s driving style particularly well. Antonelli now leads the drivers’ championship by 66 points over Hamilton in second, with pre-season favourite Russell a further two points back in third.

“I immediately found a good feeling with the car, unlike what happened last year,” Antonelli said. The contrast with his rookie struggles could hardly be sharper — and the doubts that once threatened to define his early career have, for now, been firmly silenced.