A bad weekend for Kimi Antonelli at his first home race in F1. [Credits: X/ Mercedes F1]

Kimi Antonelli Suffers Disaster in Front of Home Crowd!

Know more about the tragedy for Imola's home hero this weekend.

A bad weekend for Kimi Antonelli at his first home race in F1. [Credits: X/ Mercedes F1]

Kimi Antonelli was arguably the fan favorite driver this weekend. He is merely 18-years-old yet he has been making moves in F1. Ever since he became a part of the grid in 2025, Antonelli has driven the best out of any rookie driver this year. The Silver Arrows prodigy is extremely competitive and often displays better pace than George Russell.

This weekend, Kimi Antonelli was visiting Emilia-Romagna for what was his first home race. The crowd was ecstatic to see their home-town hero perform during the weekend. Antonelli was showing signs of major breakthrough since the past race. He was able to claim a pole position and top-3 qualifying during the Miami sprint weekend. The fans were speculating a potential podium finish from the young Italian in Imola. To top it off, Antonelli’s entire class was there to witness his racing.

Update: A loss of throttle control was the cause of Kimi’s retirement https://t.co/1Ix1lWkbkQ
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 18, 2025

But, it seems like luck was not on his side this weekend. Kimi Antonelli arguably faced his worst weekend in Formula 1 this weekend. The fact that Imola Grand Prix might get dropped next year also makes his situation distraught.

A Weekend to Forget for Kimi Antonelli

As always, Kimi Antonelli was fast during the practice sessions. His team had no complaints with his racing and everyone was waiting for the Qualifying session.

But, Saturday came and Kimi Antonelli was unable to bring out his magic in qualifying session. He could only grab a 13th place grid start for Sunday’s race. In his defence, Antonelli was a rookie driver facing the Imola circuit for the first time in a Formula 1 car. The circuit is known to be dangerous and hard to conquer. Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes was also starting behind veteran drivers. The majority of the drivers ahead of him in qualifying were podium winners. Antonelli did manage to outperform his fellow rookies.

💬 "Today was a difficult day for the team and drivers. We've got a few days to regroup before Monaco, but we'll be working hard to try and improve from here."

Hear from Kimi, George, Bradley and Shov as they reflect on Sunday at Imola 👇
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 18, 2025

Antonelli was not at all prepared for what was about to befall his race on Sunday. After a successful race start, the Mercedes rookie was trying to overtake and get the best out of the field in front of him. The Silver Arrows were lacking pace this weekend. His own teammate had dropped down the order from third to eighth. But, in the last legs of the race, Kimi Antonelli’s car stopped in the middle of the track. He had to end his race with a DNF.

The entire town of Imola fell silent as they watched their home hero leave the car in his first home race. The official team statement says that Kimi Antonelli was facing throttle degradation. He lost power during the straights and ultimately had to retire his car due to complete lack of throttle response.

Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Formula 1

Formula 1 2025 Season

Imola

Imola GP

Imola GP Results

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.