As the Formula 1 grid prepares for the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix, 20-year-old Italian rising star Kimi Antonelli holds an extraordinary 81-point lead over his Mercedes teammate George Russell in the drivers’ championship standings — a gap that has all but secured the title barring a catastrophic string of misfortunes. In an exclusive interview with BBC Sport, Antonelli opened up about the dramatic mental shift and years of behind-the-scenes work that turned a rocky debut season into a historic breakout campaign in just his second year on the F1 grid.
Expectations for Antonelli were muted heading into the 2026 season. A difficult 2025 rookie campaign, where he was thoroughly outperformed by Russell and struggled to unlock his full potential behind the wheel, left many tipping the experienced Briton as Mercedes’ leading contender for the championship as the sport entered a new regulatory era. But Antonelli sensed a turning point as soon as he took the 2026 Mercedes out for its first test laps on a cold, wet January day at Silverstone.
“After just a few laps in the wet, I immediately felt better in the car than I ever did last year,” Antonelli recalled. “The car was solid, but the biggest difference was here in my head. I was less tense, more relaxed, and far more mature — everything just clicked.” Looking back on 2025, he described the season as defined by constant tension: “I was never able to pull the full potential out of myself, that year was just not great. This year is completely different, and the mindset change is the biggest reason why.”
That first test session wasn’t the only moment that revealed how far Antonelli had come. At the opening round of the season in Australia, a heavy crash in third practice left his car heavily damaged, requiring a miracle effort from the Mercedes mechanics to rebuild it in time for qualifying and the race. Though the crash compromised the car’s setup and left him starting further back than expected, Antonelli charged through the field to finish less than three seconds behind race winner Russell. “After that, I knew this season would be a different story,” he said. “If that crash had happened last year, I never would have been able to bounce back from it.”
A big part of Antonelli’s newfound mental calm came from finally leaving a defining early incident behind him. Ahead of his 2025 rookie debut, Mercedes gave him a surprise first practice outing at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, to replace Lewis Hamilton who was departing for Ferrari. He set a blistering fast time on his first flying lap — then crashed heavily on his second. The incident stayed with him for more than a year, haunting his entire rookie season.
“Monza stayed in my head for all of last year, it was holding me back,” Antonelli said. “I was so afraid of making a mistake, especially when I was already going through a tough stretch. Every time I got in the car, that memory was there, and I was worried that another mistake would make everything worse. This year, I was finally able to put that behind me.”
That shift didn’t happen by accident. Antonelli put in months of intense pre-season preparation, including extensive work with a mental skills coach to reframe his approach to racing. “The main goal going into this season was to unlock more of my potential, and first of all just be better than I was last year,” he explained. “A lot of the work was about getting my head right, understanding what my goal really is, and learning to stay present in the moment. I don’t waste energy thinking about the final championship result or what would happen if I fail. I just focus on doing the best I can right now.”
Even with all that preparation, Antonelli admits he is surprised by just how dominant his form has been. He has claimed eight wins from 14 races so far, with blistering pace at every track on the calendar, seamless recovery drives when he drops back, and decisive, clean overtakes that have left fans and pundits stunned. Russell, by contrast, has openly struggled this season, saying his driving style is a poor match for the new generation of F1 cars, even as he praises his teammate’s breakthrough.
When asked how much of his lead comes from his own improvement versus Russell’s struggles, Antonelli was clear: he has stepped his game up to a whole new level. “I’ve definitely elevated my performance this year,” he said. “Everything about the cars is new this season, it requires a completely different approach, and adapting hasn’t been easy. But I’ve found a good rhythm, stuck to my routines for every race weekend, and that’s what’s kept me consistent.”
He’s still human, though, and has made small missteps along the way. After a career-defining dominant win in Monaco, he arrived in Barcelona overexcited, overdrove qualifying, and ended up starting well down the grid. He learned the lesson quickly: after a spectacular victory from 19th on the grid at Monza — a win Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said “closed the cycle” on his 2024 crash — Antonelli reminded himself not to repeat the Monaco mistake, and went on to win the Spanish Grand Prix just seven days later.
His historic success has brought inevitable fame and increased public attention, something the young driver says he is still adjusting to. “Life has changed a lot, that’s no lie,” he said. “It’s amazing to see so much support from fans all over the world, that’s the nice side of it. But you have to be careful, you’re way more exposed now, so you have to protect your space a little more.”
For most of the season, Antonelli has stuck to his philosophy of focusing on the process, one race at a time, rather than looking ahead to the championship. Now, for the first time, he acknowledges he’s thought about what it would mean to win the title — a result that would make him the youngest world champion in F1 history. “Yeah, I’ve thought about it,” he admitted. “But every time I do, I come back to the same conclusion: the sooner I keep pushing and get this done, the better. I just have to keep doing my best at every race, until it’s all over. It’s not done until it’s done.”
With eight to nine races remaining on the 2026 calendar (the final schedule remains impacted by ongoing conflict in the Middle East), all eyes will be on Antonelli as he heads to Baku this weekend, looking to extend his already unassailable lead and close in on a historic first world title.