Mercedes admit simulator failure contributed to Kimi Antonelli F1 woes

Mercedes have admitted that a simulator failure contributed to Kimi Antonelli’s recent F1 form slump.

Antonelli’s preparations for both the Dutch and Italian grands prix were beset by problems with Mercedes’ equipment during a simulator session, the team have revealed.

Antonelli took out Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on his way to a disappointing 16th place in Zandvoort, before finishing only ninth a week later on home soil at Monza.

While the simulator issues do not explain all of Antonelli’s recent struggles, they certainly did not help the 19-year-old Italian.

Antonelli was able to benefit from a full simulator session ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he recorded his best result since Canada by finishing fourth.

Mercedes trackside director Andrew Shovlin acknowledged the team have to take some of the blame for Antonelli’s recent troubles.

“With Zandvoort, he came in for a simulator session, and we had some issues that meant he wasn’t really able to do the prep there,” Shovlin explained.

“He then makes a mistake in FP1. Well, I think we need to own a bit of that responsibility and that we couldn’t do the normal prep.”

Toto Wolff praises Kimi Antonell ‘rebound’

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was encouraged by Antonelli’s improved showing in Baku, having described his performance at Monza as “underwhelming”.

“It was a really good rebound after Monza,” Wolff said. “He had such a difficult spell with the European races and, coming in here with a solid P4, running in the front group, that’s something to continue to build on and consolidate.

“I think we always speak very openly with each other. There’s no such thing as holding back. For himself, he was not meeting his own expectations with what happened in Monza, and the driving just wasn’t how he had expected it to be, or how he wanted it to be.

“Here, maybe there was a bit missing in ultimate performance that maybe made the difference between a podium and not, but such a good consolidation in my opinion; it was important to score that result.”

With George Russell taking second place in Azerbaijan, Mercedes have leapfrogged Ferrari into second place in the constructors’ championship with seven races remaining. 

Mercedes have 290 points, four ahead of Ferrari, while Red Bull are a further 14 points behind in fourth place.