The rookie qualified seventh but was promoted to sixth following a grid penalty for Lewis Hamilton. Unfortunately, that proved to be his weekend highlight.
On Friday, Antonelli ran into trouble early in FP2, becoming beached in the gravel at Lesmo, losing critical track time and data.
Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ team principal, was far from pleased, describing the weekend as “underwhelming”, twice emphasising the word to the media.
During the Grand Prix, Antonelli collected a black-and-white warning flag for repeated track-limit violations, then picked up a five-second time penalty for forcing Alex Albon off track, dropping him from eighth to ninth and allowing Albon to leap ahead in the drivers’ standings.
Wolff didn’t mince words: “Underwhelming this weekend. Underwhelming.” He added, “You can’t put the car in the gravel bed and expect to be there. All of the race was underwhelming.” Still, he reaffirmed confidence in Antonelli’s long-term potential.
On a broader scale, Wolff also lamented Mercedes’ overall competitiveness. With George Russell finishing only fifth and Antonelli ninth, the team remain firmly behind Red Bull and McLaren.
Wolff reflected on Max Verstappen’s dominance: “Today, one driver made everyone else look silly,” and continued, “A fifth and an eighth place are absolutely not satisfactory… But Kimi made too many mistakes.”
He urged Antonelli to deliver a cleaner weekend in Baku next, where the pressure is lower and he is more familiar with the track.
