Italian driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who secured tenth place at the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, viewed the race weekend in Budapest as both a valuable lesson and a fresh starting point. These two aspects were deeply interconnected in his eyes. After a period marked by difficulties and setbacks, the young Mercedes driver regained some confidence by reverting to the older rear suspension system. He believes this technical decision played a significant role in helping him manage tyre degradation more effectively throughout the race.
Following the disappointment of the previous round at Spa-Francorchamps, Andrea Kimi Antonelli felt that it was crucial to bounce back and find answers. His goal was not only to help the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team recover from a stretch of underwhelming performances, but also to rebuild his own confidence. The Hungarian Grand Prix offered a timely opportunity to regain momentum and address the doubts that, as he admitted with characteristic transparency, had started to surface during recent race weekends.
These doubts had arisen in parallel with a noticeable drop in performance during the European phase of the Formula 2 championship. The issues were further compounded by the updates introduced by Mercedes, which, instead of moving the W16 forward, appeared to have caused a regression in terms of overall competitiveness. After the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, even Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s experienced teammate George Russell seemed to express concerns along those same lines.
There is no use denying that something had gone wrong over the past few months. Between the new developments introduced and the setup changes experimented with, the car’s balance and behavior became unpredictable. This instability particularly affected Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who lacks the Formula 1 experience that George Russell brings to the table. As a result, the young Italian driver struggled to find the limit and cope with the car’s unpredictability—especially in medium- and high-speed corners, where precision and stability are vital.
Recognizing the problems, the Mercedes team made the decision to reverse course and abandon some of the recent technical solutions. Chief among them was the new rear suspension, initially tested at the Imola Grand Prix. It was quickly set aside after just one race, only to be reintroduced at the Canadian Grand Prix. Both drivers welcomed the team’s decision to revert to the older suspension system, noting that it helped them rediscover their feeling with the W16.
While the new suspension offered some advantages under braking—particularly during deceleration phases—it also introduced instability in corner entry on faster sections of the track. The Mercedes engineering team concluded that the suspension system itself contributed to this handling issue. This finding led to the decision to remove it entirely from the car setup.
However, returning to the previous suspension setup did not instantly resolve all the issues. Even after removing the new system, the W16 showed significant weaknesses at certain events following the Imola round. Additionally, the layout of the Hungaroring circuit—with its emphasis on low- and medium-speed corners and high-downforce setups—might have helped disguise some of the car’s ongoing shortcomings.
Despite this, the Budapest weekend served as a much-needed fresh start for both Mercedes and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Italian rookie offered a mid-season reflection after the race, acknowledging that it had been a demanding first half of the season. He admitted that, at times, he struggled even to manage his energy levels.
Antonelli confessed that he found the new suspension particularly difficult to handle, both in terms of feeling and mentally. The negative impact on his confidence even led him to question himself. However, he was encouraged to see that reverting to the older suspension brought back a sense of connection with the car. He described this development as a new beginning as he heads into the second half of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli highlighted two main themes: the technical challenges and the psychological strain. These aspects were inevitably intertwined, each feeding off the other. The young Italian never hid the fact that this tough period had deeply affected his confidence—not only in the performance of the car, but also in his own driving abilities.
This is why, even though he finished only in tenth place in Budapest, Antonelli chose to focus on the positives. His result was influenced by being stuck in midfield traffic after being eliminated in Q2 during Saturday’s qualifying session. Nevertheless, the Hungarian Grand Prix helped him clear away some doubts heading into the long summer break—a crucial period for resting and recharging physically and mentally.
Another area where Andrea Kimi Antonelli saw improvement was tyre management. In the opening half of the season, most of his struggles had occurred during qualifying and single-lap performance. However, during race stints, his pace often proved to be more competitive. Still, he acknowledged there is more room for improvement over race distance, and the experience he continues to accumulate will be essential in making progress in that area.
Antonelli explained that his final stint at the Hungarian Grand Prix was unexpectedly long. The team had not planned to run that many laps on the hard compound tyres, but he found himself trapped in a DRS train and was unable to break free. He completed over forty laps on that set of tyres. While the slower pace imposed by Fernando Alonso in defense of fifth place helped limit degradation, Antonelli stressed that for a rookie, every kilometer completed in such challenging and dynamic races represents a valuable learning opportunity.
He added that his pace in clean air was strong, but he believes the key to unlocking his potential lies in starting races from higher grid positions. He regretted not being able to demonstrate in qualifying that he had regained his feeling with the car. Now, the focus is on understanding why he lacked rear grip during qualifying and how to address that issue moving forward.
Antonelli reiterated that race pace has been his strength so far in 2025. However, he also considered the Hungarian Grand Prix to be an important lesson in tyre management. He emphasized the importance of keeping the tyres alive while also maintaining a strong pace—particularly challenging when he had Isack Hadjar behind him and Lewis Hamilton approaching from behind on fresher tyres.
One race alone does not constitute a breakthrough, but the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend left Andrea Kimi Antonelli with a renewed sense of optimism. That, in itself, was exactly what he needed in this phase of the season. He believes the positive feeling has returned, and overall, he considered the Budapest weekend to be solid, as he felt competitive throughout. On Saturday, he admitted to being frustrated, because he believed he had the potential to fight with the leading drivers.
Now, Antonelli plans to take a break, use the summer to reflect on what has worked and what still needs to improve. He will rest, continue training, and return feeling stronger and more prepared. The car felt far more competitive during the Hungarian Grand Prix and gave him greater confidence, allowing him to push harder. This was a key factor in why he was able to extend his stint so long—he had strong sensations from the car and was able to manage tyre degradation more effectively. Now, he intends to build on this foundation. He feels that both the pace and confidence are returning—and from here, he believes the only way is forward.
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