Antonelli's Performance At Mercedes: Hamilton Praises Rookie Driver

Lewis Hamilton, a former Mercedes driver, has expressed his support for Kimi Antonelli, a rookie in Formula One. Despite Antonelli's recent challenges on the track, Hamilton believes the young driver is performing admirably in his debut season. Antonelli replaced Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2025 season after impressing in Formula Two. The 18-year-old had a strong start, finishing in the top 10 in five of his first six races.

Antonelli's early success included a fourth-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix and becoming the third-youngest driver to secure a podium spot by finishing third in Canada. However, these achievements were interspersed with setbacks, including three retirements and lower placements in Monaco and Belgium. Before last weekend's race at Spa, Antonelli had retired from three of his last four races.

Mercedes has experienced as many retirements in the first 12 races of this season as they did throughout all of 2024. This has contributed to their decline in performance. They have accumulated 220 points over 13 races in 2025, averaging 16.9 points per race. This marks their poorest performance during the Hybrid Era and their worst since 2012 when Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg were part of the team.

Despite Antonelli's struggles attracting criticism, Hamilton defended him, stating: "I can't imagine what it's like at 18 to do what he's doing. I think he's been doing fantastically." He acknowledged the immense pressure on Antonelli, who began racing in F1 without even having a driving licence.

This isn't the first time pressure has affected Antonelli's performance. Last year, he crashed during his F1 practice debut at the Italian Grand Prix. Additionally, he admitted to feeling burnt out before this year's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix due to commitments related to his home race.

Antonelli faced another challenging weekend in Belgium recently, failing to progress beyond the initial qualifying stage for both the sprint and grand prix events. He appeared emotional after Sunday's race but Hamilton remains optimistic about Antonelli's support system.

Support System for Antonelli

Antonelli benefits from working with Peter Bonnington, who was Hamilton's race engineer during his successful tenure with Mercedes. Hamilton remarked: "He (Antonelli) has got a great group of people around him...and he's got Bono beside him, so he couldn't have anyone better."

The young driver's journey continues amid challenges and learning experiences as he navigates through his debut season with guidance from experienced professionals like Bonnington.