Mercedes F1 star reveals being reduced to tears after tough F1 ordeal

Mercedes

Mercedes F1 star reveals being reduced to tears after tough F1 ordeal

The 2025 F1 season has been a rollercoaster

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 22 December 2025 14:59

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Kimi Antonelli has delivered an honest recollection of his emotional first F1 season with Mercedes in 2025.

At just 18 years of age, Antonelli made his F1 debut in Melbourne this year after Lewis Hamilton's exit from Mercedes opened up an opportunity at one of the sport's most successful teams.

With that F1 seat, however, Antonelli was also confronted with a great deal of pressure, with high expectations placed on his young shoulders to emulate the likes of Max Verstappen during his early career.

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After obtaining his first F1 podium in Montreal, Antonelli's season then took a severe downwards turn, which was first seen in a lap one crash into Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring.

This then transpired into a poor run of form during the European leg of the championship, having to serve a grid penalty at Silverstone for his Verstappen collision and exiting qualifying in Q1 at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Antonelli's rollercoaster first F1 season

Nonetheless, team principal/mentor Toto Wolff retained their faith in the youngster and retained his services for the 2026, with Antonelli eventually recovering to finish on the podium in Brazil and Las Vegas.

Speaking to Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport after the 2025 season, Antonelli reflected on this period and how it impacted him emotionally.

"I cry. During that difficult period, I cried a lot. I struggled a lot, especially mentally, because I started to doubt myself," Antonelli revealed.

"You arrive in Formula 1, it's the dream of your life, the one you've worked so hard for, and after a great start to the season, you start to feel like you're not doing as well as you'd like.

"It was tough. And I also missed the composure and clarity that drivers more mature than me have in managing a difficult moment."

F1 Mercedes Kimi Antonelli