Kimi Antonelli has spoken openly about Mercedes' position in the Formula 1 pecking order this season. After back-to-back defeats to Lando Norris and McLaren, the Italian driver admitted that his team no longer has the fastest car on the grid.
Norris and McLaren have dominated the last two rounds, with the reigning champion becoming only the second driver this year, after Antonelli, to win consecutive races. For Mercedes, this trend signals that their early-season advantage is slipping away.
Mercedes enjoyed a highly competitive opening half to the year, building healthy leads in both championships. But since McLaren introduced a sizeable upgrade across the last two rounds, the balance of power has shifted dramatically.
"For sure, we're clearly not the fastest car anymore on the grid," Antonelli told media including RacingNews365. "We're probably second or third, at least in today's race, and McLaren has taken a huge step, especially since Hungary, since the big upgrade package they brought."
At the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday, Antonelli still managed to extend his title lead to 59 points with a runner-up finish. However, he is aware that the challenges ahead are getting tougher, especially with Mercedes' new package yet to prove itself on track.
"But I'm confident in the team," he said. "The team has been working super hard on this next package that is coming up, and they just want to make sure that it's going to work out well once we put it on. So for sure, in this race, it's going to be more difficult, it's going to be challenging, but we're ready to do our best and to maximise every opportunity."
Antonelli also hopes that it will be Mercedes' turn to bring a package that can give them the upper hand again. "And then hopefully it's going to be our turn to bring the package that's going to give us a little bit of the upper hand again," he concluded.
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