Kimi Antonelli reveals Mercedes ‘big meeting’ after ‘darkest moment’ of F1 career

Kimi Antonelli revealed a ‘big meeting’ with Mercedes was crucial in overcoming a slump that saw him pick up just three points at European races.

Having scored 48 points in the first six races, Antonelli struggled once F1 moved to Europe, failing to score in seven of the nine events on the continent.

Kimi Antonelli recalls ‘darkest’ moment of F1 2025 season

That drought brought questions over whether the teenager had been brought into F1 too soon but a recovery saw him end with points in all but one of the final nine races and end seventh in the Drivers’ Championship.

As to what brought that change, Antonelli said he had a “big meeting” with the team after experiencing his “darkest moment.”

“Since we put on the new suspension, I struggled quite a lot, especially to adapt,” he said. “George [Russell], on the other hand, despite that we lost performance with the new suspension, was able to adapt — and I struggled quite a lot more.

“And I just entered this negative spiral where it felt like it kept getting worse and worse, and frustration was just taking over.

“I think my darkest moment was Spa, probably. I definitely doubted myself a lot, because obviously seeing the results not coming, you start to ask yourself if you’re good enough.

“So, it wasn’t easy, but that’s why I did a big meeting with the team after Monza. I did a big reset mentally and just tried to refocus on important stuff — on the process — and that really helped. That was a big learning as well.”

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As for what caused the slump, while race engineer Peter Bonnington joked he needed a “size nine up the you know where”, trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin theorised that “unrealistic expectations” may have played a part.

“It will be easier for him when we come around to having done all the tracks again,” Mercedes’ head of trackside engineering, Andrew Shovlin, said of Antonelli, while speaking to select media, including PlanetF1.com, in Abu Dhabi.

“There may have been an element in Europe where he had unrealistic expectations.

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“He thought he knew the circuits, the results were going to come, and they didn’t. Whereas, driving tracks he doesn’t know, he doesn’t have that expectation going in, and the weekends have seemed to flow quite smoothly.

“But we’re starting to understand him a lot better. He’s getting very comfortable in the team. He’s comfortable in his own performance. We’re excited to see how he does next year, and adapting to next year’s rules, that is really about practice.”

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