Valentino Rossi’s Advice to Antonelli After Struggles at Imola
May 19 – Kimi Antonelli admits his poorest personal performance of his young Formula 1 career was clearly connected to the hype and commotion of his first home race.
The 18-year-old Italian arrived at Imola, a 30-minute train-ride from his home town of Bologna, with 100 dishes of lasagna for Mercedes’ race team.
Still studying in high school, he also invited his entire class to the circuit, multiple members of his family including his sister, and was celebrated by the Italian press and ‘Tifosi’ with the kind of fervour normally reserved only for Ferrari.
It all happened in the total absence of Antonelli’s mentor, Mercedes team boss and co-owner Toto Wolff, who when not at the grands prix, always remains connected via remote radio and data streams.
This time, however – for the first time – the Austrian was completely cut off from the events in Imola as he attended the graduation ceremony of his eldest son in Los Angeles.
“It will be the first race I’m completely cut off from,” Wolff had told Bild newspaper. “This grand prix is especially important for Kimi. He’ll feel a lot of pressure from the Italian media.
“Push away everything that’s not good for you.”
In reality, Antonelli – although ultimately retiring with technical failure – struggled more than he had at any other race so far in 2025. “I need to work on my driving,” he admitted after the chequered flag.
“I need to see where I can improve and also improve my race pace, especially in hot conditions. I think it was my worst weekend in terms of performance.”
The youngster freely admits the commotion of his first home race got to him.
“I didn’t handle the energy of the fans very well,” Antonelli said. “I wasn’t as relaxed – I was more tense when I was driving. But I learned my lesson before the next home race.
“I didn’t take enough time for myself on most occasions. I was wasting energy and it affected the performance in the car.”
In Wolff’s absence, the acting team boss at the circuits is communications and media boss Bradley Lord, who told Sky Deutschland that Imola was a “bitter setback” for the Brackley-based team.
1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve was scathing of Mercedes and Antonelli for allowing the hype to affect performance. “It’s cute,” he sarcastically told Sky, “he brought his friends – but it’s his office.
“You don’t bring friends or family to your office.”
Villeneuve also said he had heard that Gwen Lagrue, Mercedes’ driver development boss, was “not super happy” with the “side” events surrounding Antonelli’s Imola GP.
Also at Imola was MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, who has spent time karting with Antonelli. The 46-year-old was asked by Sky Italia to give his young countryman some advice.
“It was definitely difficult for him, the first weekend in Imola, in Italy,” Rossi said. “It’s tough.
“With experience, he’ll start to say no to some people.”
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