MOTORSPORT – FORMULA One’s young superstar Kimi Antonelli has remained positive despite facing persistent reliability issues in his Mercedes F1 W17 contender during the two weeks of F1 Aramco Pre-Season Testing 2026 at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).
Antonelli missed out on several hours of running on multiple days in Sakhir, including during yesterday’s final test day when he stopped out on track, causing the first red flags of the morning session after completing 49 laps of work.
Despite this, the 19-year-old Italian has shown strong pace, topping the timesheets on two occasions while setting one of the fastest lap times from both weeks.
“It’s hasn’t been the smoothest of testing for me here in Bahrain, but that’s why it’s testing – it’s all about testing,” Antonelli said during a drivers’ Press conference held on the sidelines of the tests at BIC.
“It’s really important to fix (the car) now and to experience these issues now to then be fine for the rest of the season.
“I think overall the team has been looking into it and already found the issue and the way to fix it, so hopefully we’ll be fine for Australia, but other than that, the car has felt pretty good.”
Antonelli expressed his optimism with the performance of Mercedes’s challenger as they join the rest of the F1 field in the top flight’s ‘new era’, but cautioned that their biggest competitors are also “looking pretty good”.
“To be fair, we’ve done a lot of set-up work and the car is giving good feelings, and, of course, the other top teams are looking pretty good as well,” Antonelli explained. “Ferrari looked very strong this morning but also McLaren yesterday looked strong and Red Bull as well.
“I think the top four are pretty close together, and it’s gonna be a tight fight.”
Antonelli noted that he feels “more prepared” heading into his second F1 season following a sensational debut campaign in 2025 that saw him become the youngest-ever F1 driver to both lead a race and set a fastest lap. He finished the year with three podiums and 150 points for an impressive seventh in the F1 drivers’ world championship standings.
“I feel so good going into the season – much more prepared compared to last year,” Antonelli said. “Of course, there’s a lot of expectation around us, but I think the other top teams are very strong as well.
“I think we just need to keep focusing on ourselves and try to squeeze as much performance as possible.
“But, of course, Melbourne is behind the door. Testing is almost done, and it’s going to be time to really show the performance.”
Meanwhile, Mercedes teammate George Russell echoed Antonelli’s enthusiasm but highlighted the “need to keep on improving”.
“I think there’s definitely been positives, but for every time there is an issue, it does definitely set you back quite a lot,” Russell said in another F1 drivers’ Press conference yesterday at BIC on the sidelines of testing.
“Unfortunately, for Kimi this morning, he had an issue on track, and he lost a good couple of hours, and the first test in Bahrain last week, we also had quite a few issues.
“There are positives to take – the car is feeling good, the new power units are feeling fast, and we’re making improvements every single day. However, we need to keep on improving our reliability.”
Russell also stressed on the importance of getting their race getaways in order, with his practice starts in Bahrain during testing not going as he had hoped.
“I think we’ve got a lot of potential beneath us, but to win a race, you’ve also got to get off the line quite well, and I think the two starts I’ve made this week were the worst-ever starts I’ve made in Formula One,” admitted the Briton, who celebrated his 28th birthday this month in between the two three-day tests in the kingdom.
“Lewis (Hamilton), down in P11, got into P1, so at this stage I don’t think it matters how quick you are – the thing that’s going to trip you up is going be that tallest hurdle, and that’s what we’re trying to get our heads around right now.”
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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