15/10/2025 16:00
Kimi Antonelli insists his struggles in 2025 have made him a
"stronger team-mate" as Mercedes renewed his contract for next
season. Rookie Antonelli has had a mixed first season since
replacing Lewis Hamilton, with a Sprint pole position in Miami and
a first grand prix podium with third in Canada, coupled with poor
performances, including an "underwhelming" performance in Italy, in
the words of Toto Wolff. Since then, Antonelli has delivered a
fourth in Azerbaijan and a fifth in Singapore to help Mercedes
climb into second place in the constructors' and start to pull away
from Ferrari and Red Bull. In the official announcement, the
contract lengths of Antonelli and team-mate George Russell were not
announced, as doubt remains about the 2027 line-up, with Antonelli
and Russell only confirmed for next season. Reflecting on his
renewal, Antonelli explained how he had become a stronger team-mate
through his struggles. "I'm super excited to be continuing with the
team. I've learnt so much in my first season in F1, both in the
good moments and the more challenging ones," Antonelli explained.
"Those have all made me stronger, not only as a driver but as a
team-mate too. I want to say thank you to Toto and everyone at
Brackley and Brixworth for their continued support and faith in me.
"Our focus now is to finish this year strongly and secure second
in the Constructors' Championship, before we then turn our full
attention to 2026. "There's plenty for us still to achieve in
these final six races, and we will be giving it our all."
