Kimi Antonelli claims “hard to find positives” with Mercedes F1 after British GP

F1 rookie Kimi Antonelli retired from the 2025 British GP after starting the race in P7. The Italian driver was rear-ended by Isack Hadjar’s VCARB, but was able to continue the race. However, the damage from the incident caused irreparable damage, and the Italian driver eventually had to retire. Antonelli came out after the race and suggested that it was hard to find positives from the race at Silverstone.

Antonelli has failed to finish the last two F1 races at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone. The Mercedes driver was involved in a Lap 1 crash with Max Verstappen at the Austrian GP, which led to both of them retiring. At the British GP, Antonelli was forced to retire because of the damage to the diffuser.

Antonelli was among the drivers who gambled for slick tires on the damp track at the British GP. However, the gamble didn't pay off, and the Italian driver pitted once again for intermediate tires and was sent towards the back of the grid.

After the rain started pouring, the safety car came out to neutralize the race. During the restart after the safety car, Kimi Antonelli was rear-ended by Isack Hadjar, who couldn't see the Mercedes. The spray from the back of the cars limited the visibility, and the rear diffuser on Antonelli's car was damaged after the impact from the VCARB.

Kimi Antonelli - F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain - Source: Getty

The Italian driver tried to continue, but the damage caused a downforce imbalance as Antonelli eventually pitted to retire the car. The Italian said about the race at Silverstone (via RacingNews 365):

“It just seems like everything is going wrong at the moment, and it is hard to find positives.”

Kimi Antonelli added:

“Obviously, the visibility was extremely poor, and I don't know why, but I could feel it coming. In the moment, I was lucky to still keep it on track, because the hit was massive, but it is a shame to finish with another zero. I lost like 100 points of downforce because the whole diffuser was gone, and it was extremely difficult to keep the car on track.”

“Already too late”: Isack Hadjar reacts to crash with Kimi Antonelli at British GP

Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar were towards the back of the grid at the safety car restart after the heavy rain. The accumulated spray from multiple cars above made it really hard for Hadjar to know Antonelli was ahead. The Italian driver also braked a little early because he wasn't able to see the corner properly, and it led to a crash.

Isack Hadjar said about the crash (via F1):

“During the laps we spent behind the Safety Car, I couldn’t see much due to the heavy rain and the tire temperature dropped. After the restart, I wish I could have maybe had a bit more margin, but when I saw the red light of the back of Kimi’s car, it was already too late as there was just zero visibility. Thankfully, I’m okay.”

The visibility was already limited under the slow speeds of the safety car, and as the cars accelerated on the restart.