Kimi Antonelli has taken stock of his first season as a rookie in Formula 1 with Mercedes, revealing what he considers “the biggest lesson” he has learned during this challenging yet formative year.
Just twelve months ago, the young Italian’s name was being increasingly linked to Mercedes, and the speculation was confirmed during the Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza. The announcement officially promoted Antonelli to the team’s race line-up for the 2025 Formula 1 season, replacing seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton in the squad led by Toto Wolff.
A year on, the Bologna-born driver has reflected on his debut campaign, describing it as a period filled with learning opportunities, especially on the technical side of the sport.
In an in-depth interview with Crash.net and RACER, Kimi Antonelli explained how crucial the team’s support has been in preparing him for the demands of F1. “They trained me, particularly on all the procedures — race starts, steering wheel adjustments, and directional changes,” Antonelli revealed. “We have an incredible number of procedures on the steering wheel alone — engine modes, brake balance, and all these settings.”
A key element in this learning process was developing muscle memory, essential for instantly locating the correct buttons and switches on the steering wheel while driving at extreme speeds. “In Formula 1, you travel at such a high speed that in just a fraction of a second, you cover an enormous distance — a crazy number of metres,” Antonelli explained. “You have to be extremely quick and well-coordinated when making adjustments, because the difficult part isn’t just carrying them out — it’s doing them while losing as little time as possible and keeping your focus intact.”
However, Antonelli’s preparation extended far beyond the purely technical aspects. As a professional driver, he also needed to master interactions with the public, the media, and sponsors. To help with this, the 18-year-old underwent dedicated media training under the guidance of his press officer, Rosa Herrero Venegas. “At the start of the year, she took me to a studio in London and we did a kind of mock press conference — almost like a TV Pen session,” Antonelli recalled. After that intensive day, he would review the footage to better understand his body language and the way he interacted during interviews.
The most important lesson, however, came during one of the toughest points of his season. When performance levels were not at their peak, the driver of car #12 realised the importance of taking time for himself. “I need time mainly to prepare and to get into the right mindset, so that I’m as fresh as possible when I get back in the car,” he admitted.
Antonelli acknowledged that this was something he learned relatively late in the year, but he has since applied it with success. “I feel like I had a few races where I pushed myself too hard and didn’t manage things well off the track. I was draining my batteries, and when I got back in the car, I wasn’t mentally fresh.”
The issue became most evident during a particularly demanding run of three consecutive race weekends — some held overseas, followed by events in Europe. “That was the first time I realised I had made so many mistakes. I remember that by the end of Friday, I was already exhausted,” he said. Reflecting further, he added: “Now I understand it much better. Also, I think that during the European triple-header I put a bit of unnecessary pressure on myself, just because I was driving on tracks I already knew.”
Interestingly, Antonelli found himself performing better on circuits that were new to him, as he arrived with fewer expectations. “On tracks I didn’t know, I actually drove better because I wasn’t putting that kind of pressure on myself,” he explained.
The three-week break between the British Grand Prix and the Belgian Grand Prix gave him the chance to reset and fully recharge. That pause proved beneficial, as Antonelli returned to form in Hungary, scoring points again after a series of unfortunate and frustrating races.
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