A difficult home race for the young Italian. [Credits: X/ Mercedes AMG F1]

Imola GP- Kimi Antonelli to Start His Home Race Near Back of the Pack Today!

Read ahead to know more about the predictions for Kimi Antonelli during his home race.

A difficult home race for the young Italian. [Credits: X/ Mercedes AMG F1]

Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari are the favorites for the home crowd of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. But, it seems like the fans from Imola will have to pray for the success of their favorites. Antonelli has been in flawless form sinc ethe start of the season. Although, in a rare show of slow pace, he was out of Q2 on Saturday.

Kimi Antonelli will start the race from 13th on the grid. He will be battling the Ferraris to get ahead and claim some points during the race. Antonelli was the easily the favorite driver of the weekend. The young Italian has even invited his classmates to the paddock, as his school is merely 30 mins away.

Qualifying was on the edge all the way 😵

Catch up with all the highlights from Imola 👇#F1 #ImolaGP
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 17, 2025

Imola GP Predictions for Kimi Antonelli

Kimi Antonelli is going to have a hard time during the race today. He is a rookie driver who has hardly any experience with the F1 cars around Imola circuit. His Mercedes shows enough pace to stay in the top-5. But, Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix depends more on the starting position rather than the race pace.

Antonelli will also face heavy competition ahead of himself. The drivers who are starting ahead of Antonelli are all podium or race winners. Kimi Antonelli is insanely fast compared to his peers. But, the 18-year-old has lost out to veterans whenever he was looking for a potential podium finish.

Best school trip ever! 🤯 Kimi invited his whole class to Imola 🙏 pic.twitter.com/91cHy08kLL
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 15, 2025

The best that Kimi Antonelli can do during the race today is rely on tyre strategy. The Ferraris in front of him are already facing braking issues. If Antonelli can undercut the Ferraris he will find himself fighting for points. Antonelli will then face Isack Hadjar and Pierre Gasly. The pace of their cars is no match for Antonelli’s Mercedes.

Kimi Antonelli will face massive competition as he starts to move up the grid in the top-10. The Williams in P6 and P7 are fast machines in hands of talented drivers. They have much more experience than the Italian driver.

💬 "Hopefully we can utilise that pace to make up some positions and get into the points. We will be looking for any opportunities that may fall our way too." – Kimi

Kimi, George, Bradley and Shov reflect on Saturday at Imola 👇
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 17, 2025

It seems like Kimi Antonelli will have to stay satisfied with a points finish this weekend. The odds are definitely not in his favor due to the speed of cars ahead of him. Antonelli still has a long way to go before he can compete on the same level as Alonso, Sainz, Albon and others.

The home crowd will have to suffice by celebrating a points finish from their driver. Although, the upcoming tracks can bring better news for them. Antonelli has experience in the junior series at tracks like Monza and Baku. Monza will be another chance for the driver redeem himself in front of his home crowd. Hopefully, the next time Formula 1 visits Italy, Antonelli will have a better weekend overall.

Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

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Formula 1 2025 Season

Imola

Imola GP

Imola GP Qualifying

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes Formula 1 Team

Rohan Singh

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.