Kimi Antonelli confirms that energy management "can make all the difference" in 2026

Rookie in 2025, Kimi Antonelli could well make his mark in 2026. On the one hand, the Mercedes Benz is expected to be particularly fast this season, thanks in particular to an engine expected to be at the top of the manufacturers' hierarchy. Furthermore, the young Italian's lack of experience could well be mitigated by a generation of F1 forcing each driver to completely rethink their driving style. In any case, George Russell's teammate comes away from this week with the fastest time of the first week, and valuable lessons learned along the way.

"Obviously, it was a somewhat difficult test for me," he lamented on the F1 microphoneI wasn't able to complete many laps, but I'm still very happy with my day (Friday). The team did a fantastic job sorting out all the issues, as we also had a small problem today and were a bit late on track. But the team did an incredible job repairing the car quickly and allowing me to drive. I'm very happy with my day. Not necessarily because of the result, but simply because I was able to complete a few laps and get to know the car better.

Antonelli echoed this sentiment.

Aware that the W17 he has had so far can still be improved in many respects, Kimi Antonelli remains optimistic at this stage of testing. “Next week there will be a lot to work on and analyze, but the car is giving me a good feeling,” he clarified. I hope we can continue this momentum next week and for the start of the season.

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Finally invited to share his specific impressions of how these new F1 cars might behave in a race situation, the Italian's tone was less harsh, but clearly echoed that of Max Verstappen et Lewis HamiltonBetween the lines, one can guess that the driver will have to place energy management at the top of his priorities in order to extract performance throughout a Grand Prix.

“Energy management is crucial, particularly to help the team optimize engine deployment throughout the lap,” he explained. Kimi AntonelliWe've seen that this can make all the difference, and proper, consistent deployment is essential, especially on long relays. Regarding the settings, there are a few points to improve, but I think the pace is pretty good. Of course, we don't know what the others are doing. Classic Ferrari for sale et Red Bull They seem to be performing very well after the first two days, so it looks like it will be a close battle. We have the final tests next week and it will be important to make the most of them to be fully prepared for Melbourne.

Beyond the sheer power of the Mercedes engine, this level of understanding could well allow the team(s) mastering this art to gain an advantage over their rivals. During this second week of testing in Bahrain, the few clues dropped here and there will need to be closely monitored.