However, the young championship leader refused to overemphasize comparisons with legends.
“It’s an interesting statistic, but I don’t want to think about it too much,” he explained after the race.
This is the same approach outlined by Toto Wolff, who has been trying for weeks to shield him from growing hype. Antonelli is winning, but he is still an extremely young driver, and mistakes will inevitably come sooner or later.
The start issue that keeps troubling Antonelli
The problem is that in Miami, the issue was immediately visible. In the Sprint race, Antonelli lost six positions at the start. In the main race, he lost two. Less severe, but still too much for a driver starting from the front in a tightly packed field featuring McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull.
“Yes, today it wasn’t that bad to be honest. I think I lost two positions. In the Sprint I lost six, so it was a bit better. But still, no, it’s not acceptable,” he admitted.
This is where the contrast becomes clear between the result and how the 2006-born driver experiences it.
He has consolidated his championship lead, clearly beaten his teammate, and secured three consecutive pole positions and wins with a historic record, yet his analysis still circles back to the same weakness.
With such small gaps between cars, a poor start can completely change a race.
“I think especially on a weekend like this, where the gaps are much closer, it can really change the race,” he explained.
Mercedes takes responsibility, but Antonelli is not hiding
Mercedes has so far taken much of the responsibility. Toto Wolff clarified that the issue does not concern only the young Italian driver, but also how the team is managing clutch, grip, and procedures. George Russell has also struggled at starts, a sign that improvements are needed at Brackley.
The difference is that with Antonelli every detail matters more, because he often starts from the front and because comparisons with history are already unavoidable.
However, Antonelli is not hiding behind the team. During the forced break in April, he spent significant time in the simulator working specifically on race starts and clutch release.
“I must have done 100/150 starts in the simulator, to the point where my forearm was hurting,” he revealed.
From Canada, a modified clutch lever is also expected to be introduced, designed based on his feedback.
A mental challenge as much as a technical one
It is not only a technical issue, or at least not only that. It is also mental. Antonelli said it clearly, without excuses:
“I still don’t have that confidence to be consistent in this phase. I still have a bit of uncertainty, so it’s an important area that needs to improve.”
In Miami, he still managed to recover the race, stay calm after a difficult start, and secure victory despite pressure from Lando Norris. But the issue remains open: for Mercedes and for Kimi Antonelli, starting from Canada, race starts will be one of the first key areas to fix.
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