The championship leader admitted that he struggled during his debut season at Mercedes. However, he said that experience helped him learn about himself and become stronger.
Kimi Antonelli has opened up about the difficulties he faced during his debut season in Formula 1 in 2025. The Mercedes driver acknowledged that the pressure broke him at some moments and that he felt he was letting down those who believed in him: "I think mainly last year I felt this, because obviously I had a good start to the season, then I had a difficult period, the European season, where I really struggled," declared Antonelli on the Significant Figures podcast by SAP.
The 19 year old driver explained that the pressure intensified after a good start to the season: "At that time I felt like I let the pressure break me during that period, because I felt like I was letting down a lot of people who had believed in me, especially Toto, because he was the main one who made the decision" he confessed.
Antonelli revealed that a meeting with the team after the European tour was key to his recovery: "I wasn't feeling good in that period, I wasn't doing well, but then I had a big meeting with the team after the European season and that allowed me to reset and start over. Slowly I found my way back, and then I had a good second half of the season" he explained.
The Italian said that experience gave him the confidence he has today: "That gave me the confidence, to be able to get through those difficult moments and it gave me the confidence I have this year. It also made me learn a lot about myself, not just as a driver but as a person" he stated.
Antonelli detailed what he learned about himself during those difficult moments: "In that European season, most of the things I did didn't help me at all, but I also learned how my body responds to those moments, how my brain responds, what helps me get the right focus back, the right mindset, what helps me keep 100% energy throughout the weekend, so how to manage myself with the events, obviously the driving and everything. I learned a lot about myself and also how to respond to difficult moment" he explained.
The Mercedes driver also reflected on how much he had to learn during 2025, which left him exhausted at the end of the year: "I feel that obviously the team did an incredible job trying to protect me, but the learning curve... I think I learned a lot more than if I had gone to a smaller team. I felt the learning curve was incredible, it felt like I was doing three years at once and it was overwhelming, physically and mentally, because I also had a lot of new experiences" he stated.
Antonelli has gone from difficulty to success in his second season, leading the drivers' championship since the third round in Japan. The Italian has shown that difficult experiences can forge character and prepare a driver for the biggest challenges. His story is a testament to the importance of resilience and team support in the demanding world of Formula 1.
