Jul.29 (GMM) Kimi Antonelli’s struggles at Mercedes have prompted an outpouring of support from Lewis Hamilton – and internal crisis talks at Brackley.
Amid growing pressure and another disappointing weekend at Spa, the 18-year-old broke down in tears during a media session. Despite his form slump, Mercedes is still expected to retain him for 2026, but not all pundits are convinced.
“I would take the pressure off Antonelli and send him to Flavio Briatore,” said Ralf Schumacher on Sky Deutschland, suggesting a rumoured move to Alpine would benefit the teenager.
Hamilton, now at Ferrari, made a rare visit to the Mercedes motorhome at Spa after learning of Antonelli’s emotional state.
“I can’t imagine what it’s like at 18 – or try to imagine what it’s like at 18 – to do what he’s doing,” said Hamilton. “He was thrown into the deep end at 18. He didn’t even have a driving licence when he first started racing.
“I think there’s a huge responsibility on the man’s shoulders. He’s doing a great job and he’s got a great team of people around him. Bono is next to him. You couldn’t ask for a better man.
“So I think you just have to take it slow.”
Antonelli later confirmed the exchange.
“He came to say hello to the team and we exchanged a few words,” the Italian told Sky Italia. “He told me to keep my head up and that it’s normal to have bad weekends. And to keep believing. It was really nice.”
But Mercedes’ problems extend beyond its rookie. Between Spa and this weekend’s Hungarian GP, an emergency technical meeting is being held at Brackley involving both Antonelli and teammate George Russell.
Engineering boss Andrew Shovlin explained: “We can’t get rid of the instability on corner entry. It’s likely that an earlier wing change led us astray, and we need to fix that.
“Other teams can clearly balance their cars better. We’re looking at all the design steps we’ve taken in recent races. We think there’s a solution somewhere, but we first need to figure out where we took the wrong turn.”
Shovlin acknowledged the experience gap between the drivers: “George is relying on his years of Formula 1 experience to squeeze the most out of a difficult car. Kimi doesn’t have that experience, and that’s reflected in his results.”
Still, he insisted: “What helps George will also help Kimi. We need to get back to a baseline where the car functions normally.”
Russell agreed: “The car just doesn’t feel as good as it did earlier in the season. We’re missing stability at the rear.”
“Kimi and I are both making more mistakes. We really need to come together as a team. It might be as simple as taking a few steps back, but it’s usually not that simple. We’re going to have a proper conversation this week to try and sort it out.”
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