14/08/2025 09:15
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has claimed
it is "wrong" for Kimi Antonelli to solely shoulder the blame for
his recent poor run of form. From the start of the European season
in the 18-year-old's rookie campaign in F1, he has endured a
difficult patch, which saw him fail to score a point in his first
six grand prix on the continent, despite his maiden podium, at the
Canadian Grand Prix, coming in the middle of that run. The young
Italian broke that streak at the Hungarian Grand Prix, finishing
tenth, but only after Mercedes walked back its ill-fated rear
suspension upgrade that was introduced to the W16 at the same point
Antonelli suffered a downturn in results. Shovlin highlighted how
that "created a bit of a problem" for Antonelli and team-mate
George Russell, who also saw his performances take a hit. Having
started the season strongly with five points finishes in his
opening six rounds, the trying period hit the teenager hard. It
clearly affected his confidence as he searched for answers and
attempted in vain to arrest his slide in form, something evident
through his very open style of communication with the press. Ahead
of his return to the points-scoring places at the Hungaroring,
Shovlin was asked if he was surprised about how honest Antonelli is
publicly. "He doesn't really surprise us, because we've known him
in the team for a long time, and you can see that he is his own
harshest critic," the 51-year-old told media, including
RacingNews365 . "There's no doubt that we have created a bit of a
problem in the recent races with him that he is having to deal
with, and it's wrong for him to try and own all of that as being a
Kimi problem." Shovlin highlighted that a considerable portion of
Antonelli's loss of performance is down to the Brackley-based
squad, not its young driver, but did underline that his
introspection is a good thing. "A large chunk of that is a team
problem," the Briton said. "But he's ever such a nice driver, and
nice to have in the team, and it's nice to see that he's looking at
himself." He acknowledged how the now-rowed back development has
"hurt" Antonelli, particularly when compared to his more
experienced team-mate, too. "But as I said, we need to help him get
through this," Shovlin added. "And we've seen enough from him this
year to know the talent that he has; he's extremely young, he's
only going to get better from where he is, but it certainly has
hurt him. "The last few races have hit him harder than George."
