Red Bull chief reveals talks with Mercedes star

Helmut Marko has revealed that he had a discussion with young Mercedes star Kimi Antonelli at a recent grand prix.

After a promising start to his debut season, the teenager has finished in the points just twice in his last eight races, grabbing his first F1 podium in Canada before going into the summer break having scraped a single point in Hungary.

However, Antonelli has received some advice from a senior figure outside of his team, with Red Bull chief Marko revealing that he spoke to Antonelli after his poor performance at Spa.

Speaking to F1 Insider, Marko discussed the pressure placed on young drivers at his own team, and compared the situation to Antonelli at Mercedes.

“When we bring juniors into Formula 1, they first drive for Racing Bulls, where they are not exposed to such immense pressure or the pressure of Formula 1 in general, and we don't make such a big deal about a young driver before he sits in a Formula 1 car," he said.

When asked about what he thinks has happened to Antonelli in recent weeks, Marko continued: “I mean, they [Mercedes] don't have a junior team. Sure. I don't want to comment on how things work with other teams.

“Antonelli is certainly a very fast driver, but also very young, and strangely enough, we spoke briefly at the hotel in Spa, and he said that he doesn't have confidence in the car and as soon as he pushes, he loses control.

”So, it's more a mental thing, and apparently the car is also very critical in the working window, similar to ours, and when it works, then it's much more toxic.”

“Thankfully Mercedes doesn't have the luxury of having a second team.”

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Can Antonelli recover his lost form?

Antonelli has only managed to score one point in the past four races, caused a huge crash with Max Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix, before making a double Q1 exit at Spa and similarly struggling in qualifying again in Hungary.

It is a lot for the youngster, with Lewis Hamilton reportedly consoling a teary-eyed Antonelli after his mistake at the Belgian GP. The 18-year-old is out of contract with Mercedes at the end of 2025, with no decision yet being made on his future with the team.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has previously stated that he wants to keep his current driver pairing of Antonelli and George Russell for 2026, and it looks likely the pair will lineup at the team next season.

Verstappen has ruled out a switch to Mercedes in 2026, and announced to the media at the Hungarian GP that he will remain with Red Bull next season, offering some hope that Antonelli will retain his seat in F1.

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