Kimi Antonelli commits to major changes in fight against F1 'benchmark'

Kimi Antonelli has explained how he will be making changes to his approach in 2026, as he prepares to face a "benchmark" in his Mercedes team-mate.

The Italian replaced Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025 and enjoyed a strong start, including becoming the youngest driver to lead a grand prix and set a fastest lap, both at the Japanese GP before scoring Sprint pole in Miami.

A first podium followed in Canada, but over the European season, Antonelli struggled for form, with Toto Wolff labelling his performance at the Italian GP as "underwhelming."

After that, Antonelli was arguably the stronger Mercedes driver in the closing races, including a stunning weekend in Brazil where he finished second, holding off late pressure from Max Verstappen, and rising from 17th on the grid to take third in Las Vegas.

Antonelli finished just six points behind Hamilton in the final standings, but with Mercedes expected to be challengers for the title in 2026, Antonelli has described how he intends to go up against a "benchmark" in team-mate George Russell, who is regarded as one of the strong favourites for the drivers' title.

"That's absolutely the goal, the goal is to win and eventually fight for the world championship," Antonelli told media, including RacingNews365.

"That is my goal, and it is also to be one of the best, so that's what I want, and George is very, very strong and is definitely ready to fight for a championship and is one of the benchmarks on the grid.

"So it is going to be quite fun competing with him. 

"On the other side, experience still counts, and I am not going to lie, with how you approach every weekend, experience still helps.

"This year, I will have a different approach at times, but I still feel I need to learn quite a bit, and so on the experience side, there will be a different approach, but on the driving side, I think we're all on the same level, so it is going to be a big opportunity.

"I've had some time to reflect on last season to understand and analyse the weekends that went well and why they went well, and the weekends that went bad and why they went bad, looking back at the preparation I did and understanding what was best for me and what was not so.

"I will keep the things which helped, but on the other hand, I will change some approaches to help me, to prepare myself and also to feel better at the racing."