Kimi Antonelli says rookie F1 season helped him “grow up a lot”

Kimi Antonelli is heading into his 2nd Formula 1 play convinced that his rookie twelvemonth did much than thatch him astir racing. The Mercedes operator says 2025 pushed him done highs, lows, and a fewer pugnacious stretches that changed however helium handles the job.

Kimi Antonelli has been reflecting backmost connected what helium felt were the standout moments of his rookie run successful F1, with the Mercedes operator suggesting that helium “grew up a batch arsenic a person” passim the season.

A rookie twelvemonth that started fast

Antonelli’s full-time measurement from Formula 2 to Formula 1 came astatine the commencement of 2025, aft 2 FP1 appearances precocious successful 2024. He made an instant interaction by scoring points connected debut, finishing 4th successful Australia. From there, his play swung betwixt header moments and hard weekends.

“Obviously [it’s been] a play of ups and downs, but we've been having a beardown 2nd past portion of the season,” Antonelli reflected.

“Definitely a batch of positives to instrumentality distant and, contempt the hard moments, I person to accidental I've learned massively, and I grew up a batch arsenic a idiosyncratic and I matured a lot.”

The moments helium says shaped him

Asked to prime a azygous highlight, Antonelli leaned toward the afloat acquisition alternatively than 1 trophy oregon 1 lap.

“It’s hard to find a favourite part, but I deliberation the full travel was my favourite part.

“Despite the hard moments, which evidently that was not arsenic nice, I consciousness it truly helped maine to turn and to mature arsenic a person.

“If I person to prime moments, I would accidental my archetypal contention successful Melbourne was precise peculiar due to the fact that it was my archetypal contention successful F1. [Sprint] rod presumption successful Miami, archetypal podium successful Canada, Brazil, Vegas...

“There person been galore bully moments, but the full travel has been unthinkable and it truly helped maine to turn arsenic a operator and particularly arsenic a person.”

Antonelli ended 2025 seventh successful the Drivers’ Championship, a coagulated instrumentality successful a twelvemonth that besides included a unsmooth European run. Now the absorption shifts to 2026, erstwhile helium volition again spouse George Russell astatine Mercedes arsenic the athletics moves into a caller acceptable of method regulations.