Kimi Antonelli has been one of the standout performers of 2025 across the entire grid, and not just among rookies. After charging from P16 to P4 in Australia and earning points in China, he impressed everyone again in Japan, maintaining his points-scoring streak in F1 and further validating the hype around him.
Starting sixth on the grid, Antonelli had his task cut out while navigating Suzuka’s narrow, twisting layout, where overtaking is difficult. Having never raced at the iconic circuit before, the 18-year-old drove with the knowledge that the margin for error was pretty less.
Suzuka’s unforgiving layout — with its grass and gravel run-offs — can severely punish even the smallest mistakes and ruin any chance of a strong result. With team boss Toto Wolff absent from the paddock, Antonelli leaned heavily on his race engineer, Peter Bonnington.
And, after finishing the race in P6, the Italian revealed that even reserve driver Valtteri Bottas had been a big help to him over the weekend.
“He [Bonnington] has so much experience and, you know, he can guide me in every situation. And also Valtteri. Valtteri is a really good guide, you know,” he said.
Bottas, who won 10 races for Mercedes between 2017 and 2021, returned to the Silver Arrows after losing his Sauber seat over the winter. He knows he won’t be in the limelight and will have to work hard behind the scenes with little credit coming his way. Still, he’s keen on contributing to the team’s cause.
Antonelli added that Bottas had offered valuable coaching, drawing from his experience of 246 F1 starts since 2013.
“He [Bottas] has been really nice to me. And especially on the weekends, when I was struggling, he was always there trying to give me advice and definitely was a good help,” said the rookie.
| Antonelli on the help he’s received from Bono and Bottas:
“He (Bono) has so much experience and, you know, he can guide me in every situation. And also Valtteri. Valtteri is a really good guide, you know.
He’s been really nice to me. And especially in the weekend, when I… pic.twitter.com/iQYror3kvY
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) April 6, 2025
AMuS‘ Michael Schmidt reported that Bottas “gave him a few tips on how to get the tyre temperature right so that the tyres already have grip in the first sector. It worked in the very last run.”
Given how crucial qualifying is on a narrow track like Suzuka, Bottas likely advised Antonelli on the importance of nailing the flying laps on Saturday.
Antonelli pushed hard in Suzuka
Although Antonelli couldn’t make up any positions during the race, it was the same predicament for much of the grid, with minimal overtaking and no retirements or major errors shaking things up.
The encouraging takeaway for the team was that the 18-year-old finished right on the tail of his teammate, George Russell, who has been in sublime form this season.
Mercedes kept Antonelli on his initial set of medium tyres for a longer first stint than most, allowing him the opportunity to briefly lead the race. That made him the youngest F1 race leader in history.
Meanwhile, Russell attempted an undercut to break into the podium positions, though the strategy ultimately didn’t pay off.
With his stint out front, Kimi is now the youngest driver to lead a Formula 1 race pic.twitter.com/5e1jRQUtZG
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 6, 2025
Antonelli recovered well after his late stop, charging back to finish sixth and even grabbing the fastest lap of the race. He now sits fifth in the drivers’ championship with 30 points — just behind Russell.
With the consistency he’s shown across his first three F1 outings, Antonelli is already proving he belongs at the pinnacle of motorsport, aided in part by the guidance of veterans like Bottas and Bonnington.
