Bernie Collins has highlighted a key issue surrounding Kimi Antonelli, even though she believes the young driver is already justifying Toto Wolff’s faith in him.
Antonelli, now 19, has made a rapid ascent through the ranks, earning the opportunity to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2025 Formula One season. The move marked a significant vote of confidence from the team.
The early stages of his career have shown promise. Antonelli’s first year was inconsistent, displaying both flashes of brilliance and moments that reflected his lack of experience. Still, there were enough positives to suggest he could grow into the role.
Fast forward to 2026, and Antonelli has made noticeable improvements. He currently leads George Russell by 20 points in the championship standings.
This weekend, it’s Russell who finds himself under pressure as he looks to slow down Antonelli’s momentum.
On Friday, Russell took Sprint pole with a lap time of 1:12.965 – just 0.068 seconds ahead of Antonelli.
Bernie Collins raises question about Kimi Antonelli ahead of European races
Bernie Collins, speaking during Friday’s coverage from Montreal on Sky Sports F1, discussed how the 2026 season has started for Kimi Antonelli.
“In 2025, there were a lot of question marks. Was he too young? Has Toto Wolff put too much behind him?
“Mercedes put in a lot to get Kimi where he is, and last year’s season has really allowed him to start this season really strong.
“He had a dip last year mid-season in the European races, so has he done enough to correct the issues from there? We will have to see.
“But I don’t think any of us expected him to start so well. We expected it to be Russell, but Kimi has shown Toto’s trust is not unfounded.”
Mercedes see immediate impact from Montreal upgrades, says Kimi Antonelli
Speaking after Sprint qualifying, Antonelli admitted he didn’t manage to put together a clean lap, with an early mistake setting him back.
Even so, the 19-year-old felt there were positives to take away. He noted that the new upgrades on the W17 seemed to have given Mercedes a bit of an edge over their rivals.
Antonelli told Sky Sports: “The lap was quite bad, to be fair. It was not clean at all. I did a mistake, and that threw me off a little bit.
“I then decided to go for a lap on the soft tyres without doing prep. The tyres were a bit cold. But still P2, so the potential is definitely there.
“We brought the upgrades, so we still need to understand the package a little bit more, as the balance has changed. But it seems to have given us a bit of an edge again.”
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