Lewis Hamilton might have wished he were still at Mercedes during last weekend’s Saudi Arabian GP. After all, the Brit spent most of the race staring at the rear wing of a Silver Arrows car.
Starting from P7, Hamilton was hoping to make up some places. He desperately needs to build some confidence and momentum by scoring big points to leave behind the difficult start to life at Ferrari. But ahead of him, right through the race, was his replacement at Mercedes, 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli.
In stark contrast to his predecessor, Antonelli’s start to the season has been impressive. He has scored points in every race so far except the Bahrain GP, where he narrowly missed out with a P11 finish as Mercedes complicated his tire strategy.
In Saudi Arabia, the Italian driver made life difficult for Hamilton. This despite the fact that he was not at his quickest in the first stint. There was a valid reason for that, which eventually helped him get the better of Hamilton as well.
Starting on the medium compound tires, Antonelli was not at his quickest in the first stint and was conservative. Mercedes Deputy Team Principal, Simone Resta, explained that it allowed him to save his tires and attack later.
In the end, this turned out to be crucial. When Hamilton was firing and looked to move past Antonelli’s W16, the Italian simply pulled away.
“Differently from George [Russell], Kimi started a bit easier in the stint,” Resta said in the team debrief.
“So he was able to keep, let’s say, some margin into the tires. So, when he met with, let’s say with defending Lewis, he had the pace in hand and was able to open the gap at the end of the stint,” he added.
Antonelli’s burst of speed before his first pit stop ensured he pulled far enough ahead of Hamilton to create some breathing room between them. On lap 19, the Bologna-born driver came out ahead of the seven-time world champion, and that was that.
How was that, Kimi? ️
A solid effort by our rookie to finish P6 on a circuit as demanding and difficult as Jeddah! pic.twitter.com/hwkA6mMLsG
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 20, 2025
Antonelli ended up finishing P6, around five seconds ahead of Hamilton, with Russell crossing the line fifth.
Considering the Brackley-based squad did not look as fast as Red Bull or McLaren on the day, it was a solid haul of points. The results allowed them to remain P2 in the standings, 22 points clear of Red Bull in P3.
On the other hand, it was another frustrating day for Hamilton. He continued to struggle to get up to speed in the SF-25. Persistent qualifying issues have hampered his ability to perform on par with teammate Charles Leclerc, who secured a podium (P3) in Jeddah.
Team Principal Frederic Vasseur believes the poor qualifying performance comes down to a lack of confidence. “With the car. Perhaps a little bit with himself. Also, that everything is new — and for sure…” the Frenchman said.
There is no better way for a driver to gain confidence than by scoring points, and also by coming out on top in duels like the one he just lost against Antonelli. Given his rich experience, Hamilton will surely find a way to come out of the rut. It is just a matter of when.
