Overview

• Kimi Antonelli delivered fourth place in Azerbaijan after a run of non-scoring European weekends that drew public criticism, including Toto Wolff calling Monza "underwhelming."
• Andrew Shovlin said simulator issues at Brackley curtailed Antonelli’s usual preparation for Zandvoort and Monza, and Mercedes has since refined his sim programme.
• Shovlin also highlighted that a confusing rear-suspension upgrade later removed from the car, combined with tighter grid gaps, made qualifying particularly punishing for the rookie.
• In Baku he qualified fourth and finished the same, losing out to late-stopping George Russell but regaining a spot by passing Liam Lawson shortly after their pit stops and narrowly missing Carlos Sainz’s podium fight.
• Antonelli says the priority now is consistent pace through the remaining races, while official 2026 confirmations for him and Russell are still pending and widely expected by reporters.