News Summary
- Kimi Antonelli leads the 2026 F1 championship by 81 points after winning the Spanish GP
- Mercedes says Antonelli’s tendency to be overly self-critical is one of the few things that still frustrates the team
- The Italian has repeatedly responded to difficult weekends with some of his strongest performances of the season
Kimi Antonelli has spent 2026 dismantling many of the doubts that followed him into Formula 1. There is, however, one habit Mercedes would still like its championship leader to lose.
Antonelli can be too hard on himself.
Mercedes communications director Bradley Lord identified the Italian’s self-criticism as one of the few traits that can still frustrate those around him, particularly when Antonelli believes he has made a mistake or failed to extract everything from the car.
“The only thing that sometimes annoys me about Kimi is how hard he is on himself,” Lord said.
The message Mercedes continues trying to reinforce is simple: a bad session or weekend should not become something bigger in Antonelli’s own mind.
“We have to keep hammering it into his head that he’s doing an extraordinary job,” Lord added.
It is an unusual concern to have about a driver currently controlling the Formula 1 World Championship.
Antonelli keeps responding to adversity
Antonelli’s numbers make Mercedes’ point particularly striking.
The 20-year-old has won eight of the opening 14 Grands Prix and leads team-mate George Russell by 81 points, 292 to 211. His latest victory came at Madring, where a well-timed Virtual Safety Car helped him capitalise on Lando Norris’ misfortune and win the inaugural Spanish GP in Madrid.
It followed an even more remarkable performance at Monza.
Antonelli started his home race from 19th after taking a power-unit penalty but recovered through the field to win, becoming the first Italian to triumph at Monza since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966.
Those performances are particularly relevant to Mercedes’ assessment because Antonelli’s response to difficult moments has become one of the defining features of his season.
When circumstances have gone against him, the reaction has rarely lasted long.
His ability to reset is also one reason the championship has increasingly moved away from Russell. The more experienced Mercedes driver began 2026 as a natural title favourite but now admits that overcoming Antonelli’s advantage will be extremely difficult.
Mercedes still sees a driver learning
The extraordinary results can make it easy to forget Antonelli’s age and experience.
He only turned 20 in August and is competing in his second Formula 1 season. Mercedes therefore continues to treat his development separately from what the championship table suggests.
Lord believes Antonelli’s tendency to analyse himself critically is partly what drives his improvement. Mercedes does not want to eliminate that quality, only prevent it from becoming counterproductive.
That distinction matters.
Self-analysis can help explain why Antonelli has progressed so quickly, but excessive criticism can make an isolated mistake feel more significant than it actually is. Mercedes’ job is increasingly to help him preserve the former without allowing the latter to affect his confidence.
The evidence from 2026 suggests that balance is working.
Antonelli has already matched Russell’s career total of Formula 1 victories and now has a realistic opportunity to become world champion in only his second season.
The question is no longer whether he can handle the pressure of fighting at the front. It is how quickly the championship can be decided.
GRANDE PRÊMIO follows the championship throughout the season, with complete news, analysis and results available in the Formula 1 section.
Antonelli can start thinking about the title
Madrid significantly changed the championship mathematics.
With nine Grands Prix remaining, Antonelli has 292 points to Russell’s 211. Lewis Hamilton is third on 191, while Norris sits fourth with 186.
That means Antonelli has reached the stage where his path towards becoming the 2026 F1 world champion can already be calculated.
Mercedes, however, is still dealing with him as a young driver in development rather than a finished product.
Perhaps that is the most revealing part of Lord’s criticism. Mercedes’ frustration is not that Antonelli lacks speed, consistency or the ability to win under pressure.
It is that, even while producing one of the most remarkable sophomore seasons in F1 history, Antonelli sometimes still needs convincing that what he is doing is good enough.
FAQ
What does Mercedes want Kimi Antonelli to improve?
Mercedes believes Antonelli can be too critical of his own performances. The team wants him to maintain his analytical approach without being excessively hard on himself when a session or race does not go as planned.
How many races has Antonelli won in F1 in 2026?
Antonelli has won eight of the first 14 Grands Prix of the 2026 season, including the Italian and Spanish GPs.
How big is Antonelli’s F1 championship lead?
Antonelli leads the 2026 Drivers’ Championship with 292 points, 81 ahead of Mercedes team-mate George Russell after the Spanish GP.
