Riccardo Ceccarelli believes Andrea Kimi Antonelli possesses one of the defining mental characteristics of top-level champions: the ability to analyse an error honestly, understand why it happened and then leave it behind without searching for excuses. The Formula Medicine founder and mental coach highlighted the Mercedes driver’s response to his Baku qualifying mistake as evidence of unusual maturity and self-confidence for a 20-year-old.
Ceccarelli also believes the Azerbaijan Grand Prix provides one of Formula 1’s most revealing psychological tests. The combination of walls, contrasting sections and constant pressure creates an environment in which mistakes are particularly easy to make, especially for drivers fighting at the front.
Why Riccardo Ceccarelli sees Baku as a unique Formula 1 test
Asked whether drivers experience Baku differently from other races because of the narrow walls and guardrails surrounding much of the circuit, Riccardo Ceccarelli explained why the Azerbaijan Grand Prix always captures his attention.
“Yes, I always look forward to the Baku race with great interest because, if we really want to take the concept to an extreme, I think the Azerbaijan race is almost like a Formula 1 championship of its own. The characteristics of the circuit, with an endless straight followed by a tight hairpin, combined with the two different personalities of the track – one slow section and another extremely fast one between the walls – make mistakes much more likely, as we have seen in previous editions and as we saw again on Saturday, especially at Safety Car restarts.”
Ceccarelli recalled previous high-profile incidents as examples of how the circuit can punish even the strongest drivers.
“I remember that standing restart when Lewis Hamilton, who had dominated until that point, went long at the first braking zone after the red flag and compromised his race. And Oscar Piastri realised the same thing last year when he crashed twice, beginning his decline. Even this year the Australian wasn’t immune from mistakes.”
“We saw Franco Colapinto’s strike in the race when he hit his teammate Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris’s McLaren. And we shouldn’t forget Kimi Antonelli’s mistake in qualifying: the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is a race that puts drivers under enormous pressure, and it’s interesting to see who manages to come through it unscathed.”
Why fighting at the front changes the pressure in Baku
Ceccarelli believes the Azerbaijan circuit is particularly selective because drivers experience very different psychological demands depending on where they are fighting in the field.
“Clearly, anyone fighting for the leading positions has to search for the limit and therefore risks making mistakes. Someone in the midfield, on the other hand, can play a slightly more conservative game.”
“A driver who is prepared to put a sticker on the dashboard saying something like, ‘Don’t race, think of us’, and accepts driving a little conservatively, as the Haas drivers did, can achieve unexpected results in Baku. The American team had gone eight races without scoring points with either car!”
The point was particularly relevant after both Alpine cars effectively eliminated themselves from contention during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“Baku is a Grand Prix with two faces. Depending on where you sit on the grid, you have different pressures and different requirements. Some drivers were able to take advantage of other people’s mistakes to stand out, while others had to take risks.”
“I like the Azerbaijan race because it’s easy to see how a driver manages pressure, and I think it’s unique on the Formula 1 calendar for that reason.”
George Russell, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar impress Ceccarelli
Riccardo Ceccarelli pointed to the three drivers on the Baku podium – George Russell, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar – as examples of effective emotional management under pressure.
“The podium trio of George Russell, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar not only drove a fantastic race, but also demonstrated their ability to manage their emotions.”
“George had Max breathing down his neck but never seemed afraid that he would have to surrender the lead, while the Dutchman was doing everything possible to force him into making a mistake.”
“Isack understood that there was no point attacking his teammate. Returning after missing three Grands Prix, he confirmed that he has significant outright speed but is also a driver who knows how to respect the needs of the team.”
Kimi Antonelli’s reaction to Baku mistake catches Ceccarelli’s attention
Andrea Kimi Antonelli made a relatively simple mistake in Q1 that he might have been able to avoid, but for Ceccarelli the more revealing part was what happened afterwards. The Mercedes driver was able to move on from the incident rather than allowing it to influence the rest of his weekend.
“Considering his age, I would say that Kimi has made very few mistakes so far in his Formula 1 career relative to the responsibility he has had driving a Mercedes.”
“With that said, what is surprising is seeing how a mistake seems to slide straight off him. He doesn’t carry it with him; he erases it. And that is a characteristic of champions in every sport.”
Ceccarelli compared Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s reaction with the mentality displayed by elite tennis players.
“I’m very close to the world of tennis, and one of the characteristics of champions is exactly that: after stupidly losing a point, they reset their mind at the change of ends and start again as though nothing happened.”
“Kimi seems to possess that ability. Once things have settled down, he resets his brain and when he gets back into the car he has completely forgotten what happened before.”
That mental quality has also attracted praise elsewhere during a season in which Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s championship mentality has increasingly become a talking point.
Antonelli recovers from 16th to fifth without forcing the comeback
Starting 16th, Andrea Kimi Antonelli recovered to fifth place. He did not repeat his historic Monza comeback, but still secured important championship points with a controlled drive.
“Baku isn’t Monza, and Kimi managed every overtake very carefully. He wasn’t consumed by the desire to recover positions or by haste, which is a sign of anxiety,” Ceccarelli explained.
“After the contact in Q1, which can happen, he really beat himself up in the interviews and took full responsibility for what had happened, whereas others might perhaps have looked for excuses.”
That recovery was another important result in a campaign in which Andrea Kimi Antonelli has built a substantial championship advantage over George Russell, with the wider title picture available in the Formula 1 driver standings.
Why not making excuses matters for Kimi Antonelli
For Ceccarelli, Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s willingness to accept responsibility demonstrates both intellectual honesty and a productive method of learning from mistakes.
“First of all, the boy’s intellectual honesty emerges. And then one of the things you’re taught in sport is to analyse a mistake brutally, because that becomes your resource for improving.”
“When you understand why you made a mistake, you can also find the tools to try not to repeat it, avoiding excuses – ‘my tyre was cold’, ‘I went onto the dirty part of the track’.”
“Looking for an excuse is human. It’s useful because it prevents you from undermining your self-confidence, so a serious mistake becomes only half a mistake.”
Ceccarelli believes the alternative response – accepting the full reality of an error and studying it closely – is possible when a driver already possesses strong self-confidence.
“Someone who has good self-confidence, on the other hand, focuses on themselves and tries to be fully aware of what happened. They don’t run away from the mistake, but analyse it deeply in order to take a lesson from it for the future and avoid repeating that negative situation.”
Ceccarelli sees the mentality of a ‘number one’ in Kimi Antonelli
According to Ceccarelli, Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s instinct is not to protect himself with excuses but to understand precisely what went wrong. Only after completing that analysis does he mentally close the episode and focus on what comes next.
“This seems to me to be Kimi’s characteristic profile, because in his mind that desire for knowledge was triggered. At that point he was able to reset and think about the race.”
“And this is where the difference emerges between someone who is a number one and someone who isn’t. He’s only 20 years old, but he demonstrates maturity and self-confidence far beyond his age.”
“His analytical ability is honest and extremely efficient. We’ll see him at Sepang…”
The next test comes immediately at Sepang, where Formula 1 returns for the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend. The Malaysian circuit presents another demanding combination of heat, high-speed corners, tyre stress and uncertain weather, with the full 2026 Bahrain GP at Sepang schedule and circuit guide outlining the challenge awaiting Andrea Kimi Antonelli and the rest of the field.
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