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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was pleased with Kimi Antonelli's good comeback after an underwhelming home race in Monza to secure P4 at the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend. The Italian racer had a scruffy weekend until his final lap in the Q3 session in qualifying, where he outqualified his teammate George Russell for only the second time this year.
The F1 rookie made a nice start to the race, but failed to cruise past the Racing Bulls racer Liam Lawson on the track in the first stint. However, he failed in overtaking after the round of pit stops and found himself in the contention of podium finish during the final laps.
Kimi Antonelli had to settle for P4, even after being close to Williams F1 driver Carlos Sainz during the final laps of the race, this is his best result since podium in Montreal. In his post-race interaction, Toto Wolff, who had been critical of the 19-year-old in Monza, was full of praise for the latter and said:
"It was a really good rebound after Monza. He had such a difficult spell with the European races. And coming in here with a solid P4, running in the front group, that's something to continue to build on and consolidate."
With his P4 finish in Baku, Kimi Antonelli also regained his P7 in the racer's standings from Alex Albon.
Kimi Antonelli opens up on his solid race in Baku
Mercedes racer Kimi Antonelli said that he was "slightly disappointed" with P4 finish in Baku as missed out on securing another podium finish in the 2025 season.
As per F1.com, the Italian reflected on the strong weekend and said:
"Today was a much better Grand Prix than I’ve had in recent races. That said, I am still slightly disappointed that I wasn’t able to get myself on the podium. We were closing in on Carlos (Sainz) in the final few laps, but I just couldn’t quite find the pace to get within DRS range and then attempt an overtake. He did a great job so congratulations to both him and Williams.
Kimi Antonelli also noted that owing to his and Russell's strong results, the German side overtook Ferrari in the Constructors' standings, saying:
"Whilst I was hoping for more, today was still a decent result and with George in second, a good day for us as a team. We gained a lot of points on Ferrari which is a positive and moved back into second in the Constructors’ Championship. The pace across the field is tight but hopefully we can carry the momentum from here in Baku into Singapore in two weeks’ time."
Mercedes have a slender four-point advantage over the Italian team with seven races and three sprints left this year.
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