Mercedes release an explanation as to why Kimi Antonelli’s Chinese GP was compromised
Mercedes disclosed that Kimi Antonelli suffered floor damage on the opening lap of the race, and thus was slightly compromised in terms of making progress up the field during the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix. The Italian failed to make any progress from where he qualified at the Shanghai International Circuit and came home to finish P8 on the track. However, he moved to two positions (P6) after the disqualification of both Ferrari drivers (Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc).
The 18-year-old was unable to make any headway into the front leading pack and was stuck defending against the midfield runners like Visa Cash App Racing Bulls drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar. It was a shock to many that he was given the Driver of the Day award by the fans despite not making any progress.
As per F1 journalist Thomas Maher, Mercedes revealed that Kimi Antonelli's floor damage from the first lap of the race had his race compromised.
Maher's reports were confirmed by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who praised the youngster's performance despite the damage and said (via F1.com):
"Kimi’s race was unfortunately compromised by floor damage he sustained on the first lap. He kept his head down though and fought really hard, despite the sizeable performance deficit he was carrying, to come home a creditable P8. He didn’t complain throughout the race, just kept focused on the job, and that’s exactly what we want to see."
Kimi Antonelli has struggled to match the pace of his teammate George Russell in the first two races of his F1 career thus far.
Kimi Antonelli comments on his P6 finish at the Chinese GP
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli revealed that his floor damage was owing to him hitting some debris on the opening lap of the race which impacted his performance significantly.
As quoted by the aforementioned source, the 18-year-old reflected on his outing at the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday and said:
"The race was pretty tough after I suffered floor damage on lap one," Antonelli said. "It looks like I hit some debris and that affected the performance quite heavily. I struggled with the rear in particular after that and that was something I wasn’t expecting."
"It definitely hindered my pace, but it was good learning to have to deal with that. I think we can still be happy that we were able to bring home some points in P8, even though that wasn’t what we were hoping for ahead of the race. Overall, I’m happy with how I, and the team as a whole, have started the year."
Kimi Antonelli is currently sitting in P5 in the driver's championship with 22 points to his name. The Italian is 12 points behind Oscar Piastri and 13 behind his teammate, George Russell.
Antonelli trails the championship leader Lando Norris by 22 points after the end of two races and one sprint in the 2025 season thus far.