Kimi Antonelli's second career grand prix win at Suzuka has pushed him to the top of the drivers' championship at 19, but the Mercedes driver's most telling comment after the race was not about his pace. It was about what has changed inside the cockpit since his maiden victory in China one week earlier.
Speaking after the chequered flag, Antonelli credited team principal Toto Wolff with fundamentally shifting his mental state. "I think he removed a lot of weight from my shoulder," Antonelli said. "I feel more relaxed, also more aware of the potential, which helps a lot. So definitely I'm feeling better and better every time I go in the car."
The admission matters because the first three races of the 2026 season exposed the real pressure the teenager has been carrying. Mercedes entered the year with the fastest car on the grid, with the reigning Constructors' front-runners expected to dominate through the early European phase. That expectation fell heavily on a driver in only his sophomore F1 campaign, without the benefit of George Russell's years of Brackley machinery.
The Japan weekend also reinforced how narrow the margin between Mercedes' two drivers really is, with Russell overturned by Antonelli's race pace at Suzuka after the Brit had consistently set the benchmark during the early stages of the year. Antonelli was quick to point out it will not be one-way traffic. "I'm not thinking too much about the championship," he said. "Of course it's great, but it's still a long way to go, and I need to keep raising the bar because George is very quick, and for sure he's going to be back at his usual level."
"Of course it was very annoying with the start, which is an area where I need to work a lot," he said. "But then the pace was very strong." Pressed further in the press conference, the teenager sharpened the assessment. "It's definitely not good enough. I've been making my life a lot harder this year with the start. So I need to improve on that."
Antonelli even provided a rare mechanical confession of what had happened off the line. "Basically, I didn't insert the finger that well in the clutch, so that led to the fact that I dropped the clutch more than what I should have, and obviously then I went beyond the grip that was available."
When asked how Wolff was likely to react to yet another compromised getaway, Antonelli grinned. "He was happy for sure. He's happy, but he's going to kick my butt because of the start. So, well, I deserve that."
His team radio after taking the chequered flag at Suzuka underlined what the moment meant to him. "Thanks to all the boys and girls in Brackley and Brixworth," he said. "What a car. Thank you so much."
For a driver who has spent his first full season trying to live up to a Mercedes seat that many on the grid believe should have taken another year, two wins in two weekends changes the landscape quickly. Antonelli's words after Suzuka suggest that the weight he is now free of was less about results and more about permission; the permission to finally drive like the talent Wolff has been publicly defending since 2023.
---
*Originally published on [NewsFormula One](https://newsformula.one/article/antonelli-wolff-weight-shoulder-first-f1-win-japan-brackley-brixford-2026). Visit for full coverage.*
