Kimi Antonelli: The Keys to His New F1 Level in 2026

Andrea Kimi Antonelli has transformed. From a struggling rookie in 2025, he now leads the 2026 F1 standings with six wins in eleven races. Bradley Lord, deputy team principal of Mercedes, reveals the story behind this remarkable rise.

Lord insists Antonelli's surge is no coincidence. "We signed Kimi because we believed in his potential," he said. "But seeing a driver in just his second season perform with such consistency and calm maturity is incredibly impressive."

A key factor is how Antonelli learned from his difficult debut season. "Through that tough first year, it's almost like he managed to do multiple seasons' worth of learning in one, and then that's all consolidated over the winter," Lord explained. "The reset factor of new regulations also helps, as every driver is on a steep learning curve."

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Antonelli's mindset also stands out. "His confidence is building from weekend to weekend, but not in a way that he's getting carried away," said Lord. "His feet are firmly on the ground, kept that way by his family and the team. You can see his self-belief growing, and that's really impressive."

Lord highlighted a pivotal moment around the 2025 Baku GP, when Antonelli decided to step up his work with race engineer Peter Bonnington and the team. "It was a useful reset. He saw the opportunity and took it with both hands," Lord revealed.

Mercedes' strategy to shield Antonelli from media pressure also played a role. "We've been very careful managing his introduction to F1, to avoid overloading him with marketing or PR commitments," Lord said. "We often tell drivers, 'We can't make you faster with this stuff, but if we get it wrong, we can definitely slow you down'."

However, Lord dismissed the idea that Antonelli is more adaptable than George Russell. "No, I don't think either driver has been set in their ways. Adaptability is always a key strength of any top driver, and both Kimi and George have it," he insisted. "Kimi has been able to strip away a lot of noise, focus on the essentials, and that creates space for engineers to optimize the set-up."