Kimi Antonelli breaks silence on Mercedes’ strategic slip that derailed his ‘different story’ in the making

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli expressed confusion over his team's strategy that saw him finish outside the points in the Bahrain Grand Prix. The young prodigy reflected on how an ill-timed pitstop derailed his momentum in an otherwise strong run.

On Sunday, Antonelli lined up fifth on the grid after a penalty dropped him one spot from his qualifying position. Opting for the soft tire compound, he managed to retain his starting position despite mounting pressure from Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly.

However, the Italian driver was undercut by his rivals during the first pitstop. Despite the setback, he kept his car under contention and even passed Verstappen at one point. In an attempt to execute an undercut of their own, the Silver Arrows decided to opt for an early second stop.

As Antonelli got out of the pits, he got stuck in traffic, and his efforts to make up places started eating at his soft compound. This resulted in yet another pitstop for hard tires during the safety car period. The move ultimately relegated the young driver to fighting traffic outside the top 10.

In a post-race interview, Antonelli shared his take on the botched strategy and said, via Formula1.com:

"It’s a bit confusing because obviously it’s the first time I got undercut, and that was fine, I was expecting it.

"But obviously when I put the softs on after the medium, we did two laps and then there was the Safety Car. I felt I could have stayed out, with the Safety Car the tires would have cooled down anyway and with a bit more free air, it would have been a different story."

Kimi Antonelli ended up being one of two drivers to execute the three-stop strategy. Consequently, he crossed the finish line in P11, nine spots behind his teammate George Russell. The result marked the debutant's first pointless outing with the German outfit.

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"I’m getting more comfortable": Kimi Antonelli finds confidence in his Mercedes

F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain - Source: Getty

Kimi Antonelli has had an encouraging start to the 2025 Formula 1 season. Barring the Bahrain GP, the 18-year-old has regularly finished close to his race-winning teammate, George Russell. He exited Q2 in the season opening Australian Grand Prix but bounced back to become a fixture among the top-ten in the following races.

Reflecting upon the same, Antonelli spoke to the media after the Bahrain GP and expressed his eagerness to fetch better results. He said, via F1.com:

“The pace is improving especially qualifying. Also, the racing on track is getting much, much better. I’m getting more comfortable with making overtakes and driving around other cars so that is for sure a positive. I will try in Jeddah to do an even better qualifying and do a good race from there.”

Kimi Antonelli ranks sixth in the championship with 12 points, two spots adrift of his teammate George Russell.