Gabriel Bortoleto empathised with fellow rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli amid a frustrating spell for the Italian with Mercedes in Formula 1 this season.
The 18-year-old came into the paddock with lofty expectations. Having skipped Formula 3, the Italian was directly promoted to Formula 2 after winning the FRECA title in his rookie season in 2023.
After Lewis Hamilton’s announcement that he was leaving the German marque for Ferrari, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff was quick to hand Antonelli a promotion to F1.
Antonelli began his career in the sport on a strong note, securing a maiden Sprint pole position at Miami and backing it up with a career-first podium finish in Canada.
However, since then, the European leg of the season has seen the Italian struggle massively with the W16. Since that breakthrough result in Montreal, the 18-year-old has only managed to score a solitary point for the Silver Arrows in Hungary. Bortoleto, who raced against Antonelli in F2 last year, empathised with his plight.
“I don’t want to talk about anyone’s performance or confidence because you never know what is going on inside the team,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“You know, so many rumours around everything. I feel like Kimi is a very good driver, he’s talented.
“I raced him in F2 last year and he’s in a good car, you know, very good car and he has a very strong teammate as well, so it’s not easy to be in that position.
“Obviously, I think there was a lot of expectations into this season for him and, yeah, I just… hopefully, he can get some of this confidence back and then perform well because it’s always good to see other rookies doing well. It shows that our generation is strong, so, yeah.”
Russell clarifies Mercedes stance on Antonelli
Antonelli’s struggles with the W16 essentially started from Imola onwards. The team had fitted an upgraded rear suspension that exacerbated the car’s inherent imbalance and promiscuously small operating window.
His team-mate Russell was also vocal about how the car had become a difficult beast to tame in terms of driveability, adding further credence to Antonelli’s analysis.
Russell explained how Antonelli needs to put his entire season into perspective while evaluating his recent struggles.
“I think as a young driver, you’ve got to look at it objectively, which is in terms of his own personal performance,” he assessed.
“You can argue he’s probably actually performing better than he did at the start of the year when you look at the deficit in terms of lap time. It’s just the differences.
“In Canada, when we were on pole, he was in fourth place, over half a second behind. In Spa, he was only three tenths behind me. But that was the difference between out in Q1 or getting through to Q3.”
Mercedes decided to revert to the pre-Imola spec rear suspension at the Hungarian Grand Prix and hopes that this could bring the team back in contention for wins.
But Russell clarified that there is no pressure on Antonelli to mend his ways immediately post the summer break, with a clear understanding that the side is willing to back his team-mate.
“The team have made it very clear he shouldn’t worry about those results,” Russell asserted.
“He’s still done a very good job considering his experience. It’s the car that has brought us both backwards.
“That’s, of course, very difficult to accept when you’re in that position. But it’s never easy when the car is not performing as you expect.”
READ MORE – Why Mercedes is unconcerned by Kimi Antonelli’s debut F1 struggles
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