Kimi Antonelli's 'pájara', like the kid who still lacks the body for the Tour de France

Just three years ago , at just 15, Kimi Antonelli was racing in Formula 4, the first tier of single-seater racing. Two years ago, he was racing in FRECA, below Formula 3 and Formula 2. This year, he got his driver's license and finished high school. Just a kid, but making his Formula 1 debut, replacing the driver with the most titles alongside Michael Schumacher . And just 18 years old.

The young Italian seems overwhelmed by the demands of Formula 1 these days, the pressure of performance and the intense schedule. When Toto Wolff decided to skip Formula 2 to step into Lewis Hamilton 's shoes, he was throwing the talent nurtured in his own breasts into the hot arena of Formula 1. Last week at Spa and on Thursday at the Hungaroring , even the seven-time champion came out in defense and support of Antonelli.

The slump Antonelli is going through was predictable, like that debuting cyclist in the Tour de France who still didn't have enough strength to endure three weeks of intense competition. Other precocious talents ended up burned out before showing the potential they were supposed to have. Jos Verstappen , Max's father , for example, crushed by being thrown into the jaws of Michael Schumacher. That won't be the case for the Italian unless his current crisis becomes persistent, but Antonelli has the full support of Toto Wolff and Mercedes.

With tongue out

Since Emilia Romagna, seven races ago, the Italian hasn't finished four (there due to a breakdown and at Silverstone, having suffered a crash), with a best result of thirteenth place, aside from the podium in Canada. The comparison with Russell is devastating. He is fourth overall, with 157 points, to Antonelli's 63 in seventh. Five podiums for the Briton to one for the Italian. In grid practice, Russell leads by 12 to 1, with a difference of almost four-tenths.

Although experience justifies the differences, they are excessive, and Antonelli 's performance has plummeted recently. For the Italian, the avalanche of races has overwhelmed his ability to assimilate and respond to the pace of Formula 1. "I'm still trying to learn a lot and gather all the information, because sometimes, especially when you have back-to-back races, it's a bit difficult to compile all the information you gain during a weekend and apply it immediately afterward. So it's been a bit complicated," explained the Italian before the start at Spa.

“I think the pace of this first part of the season has been quite high. The intensity, without a doubt, has also been quite high. So it also requires some adaptation, especially after the first triple header. I had to adjust my energy management during those three weeks . Overall, there's also a lot to learn in that regard, especially in how to manage energy in the best possible way to have as much as possible when I get back in the car,” acknowledged the Italian, who, like the young rider, lacks stamina. “This also means taking time to recharge and stay focused, especially mentally. There's a lot to learn in that regard, but I have a much clearer vision and ideas for the second half of the season.”

However, at Spa, he didn't even make it past Q1. He was devastated. The next day, Antonelli revealed that Lewis Hamilton had come to the Mercedes motorhome to cheer him on. "He came to say hello and told me to keep my head high, that it's normal to have bad weekends, and to keep believing in myself. It was very good for me," the Italian explained.

"I can't imagine what it's like to do what he's doing, and I think he's been doing fantastically. To have him thrown into the water at 18 is... He didn't even have a driver's license when he started racing," Hamilton explained after the Belgian Grand Prix, referring to his return at the Hungaroring. "I always let him know I'm there. It's important for people to know they're not alone, and that's why I let him know. I wasn't ready at 18, he clearly is because I think he's done a great job this year, especially in the first half, the way he's come into his own. It's very difficult when you want to succeed, and with all the pressure and everything, it's sometimes difficult to handle."

Hamilton put his finger on the sore spot. Antonelli has displayed enormous natural talent throughout his short career, and was exhaustively analyzed by Mercedes engineers before his confirmation with Mercedes. Even his strong debut in the difficult conditions of Australia confirmed initial expectations . A different matter is delivering the expected consistency in every race, week in and week out, with his still short life and sporting record.

To the above, the German team has added another factor that may have made the Italian's situation more difficult: the introduction of a new suspension has made the W16's behaviour more critical, especially on one lap in the Italian's case, but it has also affected George Russell , although with another impact given his greater experience.

“With my aggressive style, the way I was driving it, I made the car even more unpredictable,” Antonelli explained at the Hungaroring to justify his problems, hoping for the decision Mercedes would make for this weekend. Hence Mercedes has decided to remove the suspensions for the Hungaroring, which are causing so many headaches for its drivers.

"When I tried to really push it, it was hard to feel whether it was going to hold or not. When you're on that fine line, it can really make a difference. For me, especially with the way I was driving, it made it more unpredictable and I lacked confidence. Every time I tried to push it harder, the car struggled to hold or gave me signals that made me feel like it wasn't going to hold."

“Kimi is on a very steep learning curve and is only going to improve as a driver. The fact that his early performances were better now almost certainly means the car isn’t as competitive, and that’s reflected in George’s results,” explains Andrew Shovlin , the German team’s trackside engineering manager. “When a young driver comes in with a difficult car, it’s very difficult to maintain pace week after week. We’ve seen enough from Kimi to know there’s a lot of talent there. What will help George will also help Kimi, probably even more.”

Thrown into the pool without life preservers and perhaps earlier than his experience warranted ( Wolff was certainly looking at Max Verstappen's process ), Kimi Antonelli began his Formula 1 journey with the famous Monza crash last year. The Italian acknowledged that it was a psychological burden for a long time. He believed he had recovered after his debut in Australia, he acknowledged. The current situation is more complicated. Nothing that three weeks at the Tour de France won't cure. In the meantime, no one can take away the suffering.