Kimi Antonelli’s “burnout” backfires as Mercedes crew plots hilarious revenge. Inside Mercedes: Antonelli’s burnout leads to funny mechanic retaliation.

F1 | Kimi skids into the pits and the mechanics take revenge

In the world of Formula 1, tension is usually sky-high, but during this quieter period of the season—and with Mercedes enjoying a strong technical advantage—there is also room for some light-hearted fun inside the garage.

A recent reel published by the team has gone viral across social media, offering a humorous behind-the-scenes look starring young rising talent Kimi Antonelli, currently one of the standout performers of the season.

The video opens with a dramatic pit exit: Kimi decides to leave the garage with a spectacular burnout, the kind more suited to an action movie than a standard practice run. The result? Black tyre marks are left across the otherwise spotless Mercedes pit garage floor.

For fans, the smell of burning rubber and the sight of tyre smoke represent pure adrenaline. For mechanics, however, it means only one thing: hard work. The video then shows the crew dressed in black, scrubbing the floor intensely in order to restore it to its original clean condition.

That is where the “revenge” begins. While Kimi is momentarily distracted, the team decides to get back at him in a playful way, using the dirty rags that were used to clean the tyre marks. How? Kimi’s jacket is literally stuffed with black cloths covered in dust and debris. Even his official team cap is turned into a hiding place for the same dirty rags.

Kimi’s reaction is priceless. Between laughter and disbelief, the young driver jokes about the “new smell” of his racing gear:

“It smells like brake cleaner!”

Toto Wolff and the entire Mercedes team have fully supported and guided Kimi throughout his early F1 journey, especially as he stepped into one of the most demanding roles in motorsport—as a rookie replacing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

This episode, along with many others behind the scenes, shows that while handling pressure in Formula 1 is never easy, it is certainly possible when there is the right environment, team spirit, and sense of humour within the garage.