Mercedes is using humor to keep its 19-year-old driver Kimi Antonelli focused amid his early 2026 Formula 1 success. The Italian teen leads the drivers' championship after back-to-back wins in China and Japan. Antonelli and deputy team principal Bradley Lord shared stories of team support during the April break.
Kimi Antonelli became the youngest driver to lead the Formula 1 drivers' championship after victories at the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix. The 19-year-old Mercedes driver holds a nine-point advantage over teammate George Russell. Speaking on the Mercedes Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show, Antonelli said, 'I always try to, especially after China, to keep myself grounded. Then focus on the next one, because it's very easy to get carried away from these moments.' He has been with Mercedes since 2018, when he was 12 years old, and described a smooth transition to F1 last year thanks to familiarity with the team members. Antonelli noted the challenge of the unplanned April break following cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to war in the Middle East. 'With the cancellation, it was not the best, because when you have such a momentum, you just want to keep going,' he said. To stay sharp, he participated in a Pirelli F1 tyre test and a filming day at Silverstone. During the Silverstone session, Antonelli wheelspun out of the garage, leaving black marks for the team to clean. In response, staff stuffed dirty cleaning cloths into the sleeves of his jacket as a prank. Bradley Lord recounted, 'Kimi decided it would be fun to wheelspin out of the garage... So they take all the dirty cloths that clean the garage and stick them all down the sleeves of his jacket.' Looking ahead to the Miami Grand Prix sprint weekend, Antonelli aims to rebuild momentum despite new rule changes and a single extended 90-minute practice session. 'The goal is to be back from where we left off, or even better,' he stated.
