Andrea Kimi Antonelli had another tough showing during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, which saw him finish both races outside of the points-paying positions. <\/p>\n
Kimi Antonelli<\/a> also failed to get out of Q1 in both qualifying sessions over the course of the weekend, and looked beside himself with his performance in the media pen after qualifying for the Grand Prix.<\/p>\n The 18-year-old has shown glimpses of his talent throughout his rookie season with Mercedes<\/a>, which has seen him snatch a podium in Montreal and a Sprint pole position in Miami.<\/p>\n However, recent results have seen the young Italian fail to score points in six of his last seven races, with four of those being early retirements. <\/p>\n Andrew Shovlin put the blame on the Mercedes team for the lack of recent results<\/a>, stating that Antonelli has suffered due to the car not being as competitive as it was earlier in the season.<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats<\/a><\/p>\n Bernie Collins thinks Mercedes should use Valtteri Bottas in commitments that put pressure on Kimi Antonelli<\/p>\n Speaking on The F1 Show podcast, former F1 strategist Bernie Collins<\/a> touched upon how Mercedes can protect Antonelli by getting reserve driver Valtteri Bottas<\/a> to fill in for the Italian in marketing commitments.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that he just needs a reset. Like you say, drivers really resent doing any of the marketing. They\u2019re focused on what they would need to do better. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cMercedes is a big team and has a lot of commitments. They should lean on Valtteri a bit more. I appreciate that Kimi is younger and new to it. He\u2019s keen to get involved in all the things. <\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t want to say no to anyone. Doesn\u2019t want to become this awkward driver that people are a bit hesitant to go and ask for things. But that\u2019s why he needs a good team around him, good people who are looking out for his best interests, and getting things right for him.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Valtteri Bottas\u2019 life outside F1 from girlfriend to wine and gin<\/a><\/p>\n Kimi Antonelli\u2019s seat in F1 at Mercedes looks safe for at least another year<\/p>\n With Max Verstappen\u2019s position of third in the drivers\u2019 championship cemented until after the summer break at the very least, the rumours of him joining Mercedes for the 2026 season have died down.<\/p>\n Antonelli is still without a contract for the 2025 season<\/a>, after being handed a one-year contract for his rookie season in F1 alongside George Russell, who is also without a contract for next year at the moment.<\/p>\n RaceResultEmilia Romagna Grand PrixDNFMonaco Grand Prix18Spanish Grand PrixDNFCanadian Grand Prix3Austrian Grand PrixDNFBritish Grand PrixDNFBelgian Grand Prix16<\/p>\n However, paddock insiders believe Mercedes are poised to make an announcement regarding Antonelli and Russell\u2019s future<\/a>, with team boss Toto Wolff previously stating that the two current Mercedes drivers are his \u2018top priority\u2019.<\/p>\n