Andrea Kimi Antonelli Admits Fatigue Behind Poor Performance at Imola GP

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the young Mercedes Formula 1 rookie, has admitted that emotional and physical fatigue contributed to his underwhelming performance at the Imola Grand Prix — his first F1 home race near his hometown of Bologna.

Excitement Turned Overload at Imola

While the weekend began with high spirits, Antonelli struggled with car confidence during Saturday’s session. Both he and teammate George Russell encountered excessive tire heating issues during the main race.

Despite briefly holding off Lewis Hamilton, Antonelli’s race ended in retirement due to throttle problems.

Pre-race Commitments Included:

• Celebrating Bologna FC’s domestic cup win

• Hosting classmates in the F1 paddock

• Taking photos and selfies with fans

• Participating in media engagements

“Overall, this was probably the worst weekend in terms of performance — I need to learn sometimes to say no and take more time for myself,”
said Antonelli.

Mercedes to Adjust Rookie’s Schedule

Mercedes team representative Bradley Lord confirmed that the team will analyze Antonelli’s race week structure to better manage expectations and recovery.

“The highest priority for us and Kimi is performance. We need to understand which moments gave him energy and which potentially became overload,”
said Lord.