Melbourne: Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli expressed his delight after securing second place at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, describing it as “the best start we could have wished for.”
The young Italian driver endured a difficult start to the race but produced an impressive recovery drive to finish P2 behind race winner George Russell, capping off a dramatic and challenging weekend for Mercedes at Albert Park.
Antonelli lost several positions during the opening lap due to a poor start but quickly regained momentum. Showing strong race pace during the first stint, he worked his way back through the field by overtaking Arvid Lindblad and Isack Hadjar, eventually moving up to fourth place. A well-executed Mercedes race strategy then helped him climb further and finish ahead of the Ferrari drivers.
Speaking after the race, Antonelli said he was pleased with the overall performance despite the early setback.
“It was the best start we could have wished for. Unfortunately the start was really bad and I lost a lot of places and had to recover, but overall it was a good race,” Antonelli said. “The pace was very strong, especially towards the end, and I’m already looking forward to next week.”
The opening laps of the race provided plenty of excitement, with Antonelli praising the intense wheel-to-wheel battles and overtaking opportunities.
“The racing was incredible in the first few laps. With the overtakes being so powerful, it created a lot of action. It was really fun at the beginning.”
Antonelli’s result was even more remarkable considering the difficulties he faced earlier in the weekend. The Italian driver suffered a heavy crash during FP3, which caused significant damage to his car and initially raised doubts about whether he would be able to participate in qualifying.
However, the Mercedes team worked overnight to repair the car, allowing Antonelli to return to the track and progress through Q1, eventually qualifying in second place.
During the race start, Antonelli also faced a technical issue.
“We had a problem with the battery at the start, and the new starting procedure made things very stressful. I had a lot of wheel spin, which was disappointing. I couldn’t even do burnouts on the way to the grid,” he explained.
Despite these challenges, Antonelli maintained strong pace throughout the race and successfully held on to second place, securing the fourth podium finish of his Formula 1 career.
He also praised the Mercedes team for their efforts in repairing the car and preparing it for race day.
“The team did an incredible job. Today’s result was possible because of the work they did yesterday to fix the car. I’m really happy and I think it’s going to be a fun year.”
With a strong start to the 2026 season, Antonelli now turns his attention to the next race in China, hoping to continue Mercedes’ early momentum.
