Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has credited his tricky rookie Formula 1 campaign in 2025 with making him mentally stronger in 2026.
The Italian driver holds a 59-point lead over his team-mate George Russell and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' standings. He became the youngest driver to lead the championship in his second season in the series after back-to-back wins in China and Japan, which he followed up with four more grand prix victories before the summer break.
Antonelli has shown a massive jump in performance compared with this time 12 months ago, when he scored points in only two of nine European races. He ended his rookie season seventh in the standings with 150 points, with three podium finishes in Canada, Brazil and Las Vegas and four retirements in Emilia-Romagna, Spain, Austria and Great Britain.
"Experience is playing a massive role," the 20-year-old explained to F1.com as he reflected on the changes from 2025 to 2026.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Antonelli added that while his 2025 season was challenging, he "needed" those tough moments to become stronger "emotionally and mentally".
"Of course, I still have a lot of experience to make, but I think last year, despite all the bad moments, the difficult periods, I think that was what I needed because that helped me to grow even more than what I anticipated. It made me stronger emotionally and mentally."
Since Antonelli took the lead in the standings in Japan, there has been a lot of talk about when the pressure of fighting for a championship will get to the young driver, but that is yet to happen.
He now heads into his home race hoping for better fortunes than he experienced in 2025, although he will take a power unit penalty. The Italian Grand Prix will take place at Monza from 4-6 September.
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Originally published by motorsport.com —
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