Kimi Antonelli "getting weaker", Mercedes "becoming a one-man team"

Ex-F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has warned Mercedes that they risk becoming a “one-man team” amid Kimi Antonelli’s dip in form.

Kimi Antonelli has scored points just twice in the previous nine races.

The Italian has been plagued with poor reliability, but since Mercedes’ Imola upgrade, he’s struggled for overall pace.

Mercedes reverted back to an older specification suspension part at the Hungaroring.

The change appeared to have an immediate impact as George Russell returned to the podium.

Speaking on the latest episode of the F1 Nation podcast, Palmer assessed the battle for second in the constructors’ championship ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.

“A little bit like Ferrari, they’re becoming a one-man team at the moment, Palmer said.

“With Hamilton struggling, you’ve got Antonelli struggling probably even more. So they need to try and get Antonelli firing again to try and overhaul Ferrari in the championship.”

Antonelli waiting on new Mercedes deal

Mercedes have yet to announce their driver line-up for next year.

Max Verstappen ended speculation linking him with a move to Mercedes for 2026.

Palmer believes that Mercedes announcing a new deal for Antonelli will only ease the pressure.

“I hope so,” Palmer added. “If it were me in the car, it would be a huge weight off my shoulders.

“All of the chatter in the paddock over the summer of Verstappen’s coming in, looks like Russell would be heading out, but then George started pointing the finger at Kimi and saying, well, hang on, I’m beating him.

“So, then you’re 18 and a rookie, and you’re thinking flipping heck, this is tough stuff in Formula 1.

“It still is. But at least he can have the confidence that he most likely will still be at Mercedes; they’ve given him time now.

“And the potential, I’m sure, is there. But he’s again in this spiral that we’ve seen with various drivers over recent years, where he’s now overthinking every time he gets in the car. He’s not driving on his natural instincts anymore.

“We do see flashes of performance through free practice and various points in the race where you think, ah, this is what we saw earlier in the season.

“But as the season’s going on, he’s actually comparatively getting weaker to his teammate, which is the entire reverse of what you’d expect from an 18-year-old rookie who should be learning, should be getting closer.”