What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago at Spa-Francorchamps, a teary-eyed Kimi Antonelli struggled to maintain his composure in the media pen, amid an ordeal of a sprint weekend where he was twice out in Q1 and finished both races well down the order.
Now, Antonelli is Italy’s second-most successful driver in Formula 1 history, having triumphed in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix – thereby increasing his championship lead to 45 points over new runner-up Lewis Hamilton, with team-mate George Russell five further points adrift following his lap-one retirement.
The contrast could hardly be starker between the error-prone 18-year-old rookie Mercedes gambled on last year and the 19-year-old star performer we’ve been watching this season. According to team principal Toto Wolff, this is down to the invaluable experience gained in 2025 as well as Antonelli’s wise mindset in and out of the car.
“We're all surprised,” Wolff admitted following Antonelli’s sixth career victory – also his sixth in 2026.
“I think the first season came as expected. Great moments where his talent shined through, and moments which were very difficult – the long spell of the lack of results in the middle of the season – as expected.
“And then after the winter, also as expected, he knew the environment, he knew the pressures, he knew the demands of the team on the technical side, on the marketing side, knowing the tracks that we would go racing [at].
“But what was not expected is the serenity and structure that he brought into his game. With Kimi, whether the session was good or bad, you wouldn't see a difference in emotions in the debrief. It is absolutely transactional. What is the problem? How do we solve it? How do we move on? And that is new. And I think that's why it's almost when he wins you can't see this absolute excitement that a 19-year-old would almost have.
“And at the same time, [when] he fails to deliver results... In Barcelona, when we had the car stoppage, or even in Silverstone, he comes back in and he was the one saying to the team, ‘Well, this is a mechanical sport, these things can happen’ – 19 years old! That is very, very impressive to see. And I think this mindset and this attitude is probably one of the main drivers that has allowed the talent to shine so early in his career.”
Meanwhile, Antonelli was also asked about whether he could have imagined such success 12 months earlier on that distressing Spa weekend.
“No, absolutely not,” the Italian replied. “Last year here, I probably reached the bottom, so it was a very difficult weekend for me mentally. But this year was definitely a lot better. If you had asked me last year at this moment, I probably would have said no.”
