Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli Says He's Using Team Boss Criticism As Fuel Amid Rough Rookie Campaign

It has not been the smoothest season for Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, as he hasn't quite lived up to the lofty expectations that come with replacing a seven-time champion in Lewis Hamilton.

Also, a whole Netflix documentary about him getting selected for the seat — called The Seat — certainly didn't do much to minimize pressure.

And while there have been flashes of the kind of pace and driving ability that Antonelli has been known to possess, like a podium in Canada and a stunning Sprint Race pole in Miami, they've been sort of few and far between.

The heat is getting turned up as Mercedes boss Toto Wolff described Antonelli's disappointing Italian Grand Prix weekend as "underwhelming."

However, ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix — which uses one of my favorite circuits, we'll get to that — Antonelli said he's using those comments to fuel him.

"I think it was mainly related to the race, which I agree wasn’t the best. But I took it positively, as fuel to do even better for this race weekend," Antonelli said on Thursday in Baku, per the Associated Press.

That's a good way to use those comments, and I think this could be a good weekend for Antonelli and Mercedes to maybe have a surprise bounce-back weekend.

The Baku Street Circuit has a history of unpredictable moments — like Lewis Hamilton's "Brake Magic" incident in 2021 (pictured) — and that, plus the notoriously difficult setup challenges it presents could lead to Mercedes and Antonelli catching a break. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Could Antonelli And Mercedes Catch A Bounce From Baku's Unpredictability?

Now, this is one of my favorite races of the season because it can be unpredictable. That has caught Mercedes out before. In 2021, Lewis Hamilton lost after he forgot to turn off a setting on his steering wheel called "brake magic" and locked up into the first corner on the final restart.

But some of that unpredictability, as far as how a race weekend goes, has to do with the circuit itself. 

The first sector is all 90-degree corners, while the second sector can get as tight and technical as parts of Monaco. This means you'd ideally want a higher-downforce setup that allows for more speed through slower corners.

But here's the kicker: the third sector is made entirely of the longest straight in Formula 1. This means that from the time drivers exit Turn 16 — the last "real" corner on the track — until they hit the finish line, it's all about straight-line speed, which means you want as little downforce as possible. 

If you leave on more downforce to tackle the second sector, that will mean a slower last sector since more downforce equals more drag.

Teams have to strike some kind of compromise as far as the aerodynamic setup is concerned. You want something that can get through the twisty part of the track safely and somewhat quickly, but without so much drag that you compromise the final sector. 

Getting this wrong can tank a weekend.

But if Mercedes can nail this and give Antonelli a well-balanced car, he should be in a position to do well, especially because he's familiar with this track. He finished P3 in last year's F2 Feature Race and P7 in the Sprint Race the day before.

He should feel confident in his abilities and his track knowledge in Baku. So, hopefully, he and Mercedes can pin down a setup that works and Antonelli can have a big, confidence-boosting weekend.