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Andrea Kimi Antonelli's tough run of European weekends continued on Saturday at the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix. After a disappointing Sprint that saw him finish 17th, the Mercedes rookie also failed to progress beyond Q1 in Qualifying.
Mercedes had been riding high after their 1-3 finish in Montreal, where Antonelli secured his maiden F1 podium. However, since then, the team's trajectory has dipped. Antonelli crashed out on Lap 1 in Austria, followed by another DNF at Silverstone. Meanwhile, George Russell has still managed top-10s with a P5 in Austria and P10 at Silverstone.
At Spa, things only got worse.
"That was another difficult day in what has been a tricky period for us over the past few races. I was struggling with the car balance on Friday and that continued into Qualifying today. The confidence wasn't there and that showed in the lap time. It is frustrating as we know, we've more pace than we showed today," Kimi Antonelli said via F1 post Qualifying.
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The Sprint offered little comfort. After an error in SQ1 left Kimi Antonelli in P20, he made up a few positions to finish 17th. It wasn't a points-paying finish, but it was at least a cleaner run than Austria or Silverstone.
By the time Qualifying arrived, Mercedes seemed to have narrowed the setup window slightly, but not enough. Antonelli initially slotted into 11th, but as others improved in the final Q1 push, he tumbled down to 18th, only ahead of the two Aston Martins. Team Principal Toto Wolff didn't sugarcoat the team's problems, saying:
"As a team, this weekend has fallen far below our standards so far. It's been our weakest performance this year and we need to quickly understand why. We have struggled with a car facing several balance limitations, losing the vast majority of our lap time in the middle sector. We knew we would struggle to get into the points in the Sprint... so focused on improving these balance issues for Qualifying. Unfortunately, we couldn't make sufficient headway and suffered as a result."
Antonelli finished qualifying 18th with a time of 1:42.139. With no points finish since Canada, the Italian admitted his confidence had taken a hit as he endures a challenging mid-season slump.
George Russell, despite sharing Antonelli's Friday struggles, salvaged a better result. He climbed from 13th on the Sprint grid to finish 12th (+25.969s) and then pulled out a lap of 1:41.260 in Qualifying to secure sixth on the grid for Sunday.
Kimi Antonelli eyes Spa comeback despite difficult form: “We have a chance to do that tomorrow”
Even amid the gloom, the 18-year-old isn't giving up. As always with Spa-Francorchamps, changeable weather is a wild card, and Kimi Antonelli is counting on it.
"We're working hard to improve so we can get back on track and putting in good results. Whilst Qualifying didn't go the way we want, we have a chance to do that tomorrow. The weather forecast is changeable, and we may have rain. That would give us a chance, to make up more positions than may be possible in a standard dry race," he said (via F1).
With a 60% chance of rain, the Belgian Grand Prix could mirror the chaos of Silverstone, where unpredictable showers flipped the script mid-race. Spa is historically known for weather swings even within the same lap, and Kimi Antonelli will be hoping for exactly that to open up strategic windows.
Pirelli's new compound choice this year- C1, C3, and C4 - was aimed at creating a dilemma between a flat-out two-stop or a managed one-stop. However, with colder ambient temperatures and a chance of showers, it may come down to real-time instinct more than pre-race simulations.
Mercedes is also banking on aerodynamic changes to help manage tire and balance struggles. At the front, the team has increased the second element's chord on the wing endplate to improve control airflow around the tires to make the car more stable. At the rear, Mercedes has moved the drum lip inward, improving how the air leaves the car and reducing drag off the tires.
In isolation, an 18th-place start on Sunday may not inspire hope. But this is Spa. What Kimi Antonelli needs most, though, is what he's been searching for since Montreal: confidence and a clean Sunday.
