The Italian teenager has now lost positions at all six standing starts this season, spanning four Grands Prix and two Sprint races, frequently dropping into the midfield despite Mercedes regularly locking out the front rows.
Antonelli admitted the issue is becoming increasingly concerning as rival teams continue to close the gap on Mercedes’ outright pace.
The problem was especially visible in Miami, where Antonelli started second for the Sprint but fell to eighth by the opening corners. Although he fought back impressively to finish fourth on the road, a five-second penalty for track limits violations dropped him further down the classification.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff later accepted responsibility for the poor launch, explaining that the team had misjudged grip levels before the start. Wolff also stressed Antonelli was not at fault.
Despite the repeated setbacks, Antonelli has still managed to recover and win the Chinese, Japanese and Miami Grands Prix, underlining both his pace and Mercedes’ race strength.
“I mean, [the race] to be fair, was not as bad. I think I lost two places, and in the Sprint, I lost six, so it was a little better,” Antonelli told media.
“But it is not acceptable, I think, especially on a weekend like this, where the gaps were a lot closer, [a bad start] can really change the race.
“So it is a point where, together with the team, we need to look into it, because in the Sprint, procedure-wise, it was good, but the grip level that we thought was there was just not there.
“Mainly from me, I’m still a little bit inconsistent, especially on clutch-drop. I still don’t have that confidence, being consistent with that, I still have a bit of uncertainty, so it is a big point which needs to be improved.
“But [in the race], I managed it better than [in the Sprint], where I was very frustrated, and [in the race], I just kept it a bit cool, a bit better and just managed to move on and focus on the race.”
