Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
George Russell brought home a solid P7 finish at the 2025 Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, while Kimi Antonelli was forced to retire following a loss of throttle control, cutting short what had been a promising race for the young driver.
Both drivers opted for alternate strategies heading into the race: George began from P3 on the used Medium compound he set his Q3 time on, while Kimi started from P13 on the more durable Hard tyres.
A strong launch saw both drivers make early gains, but rear tyre overheating soon hampered their progress. For George, that led to an early pit stop on lap 11 for a fresh set of Hards, committing him to a less-than-ideal two-stop strategy.
A mid-race Virtual Safety Car offered a brief opportunity, allowing both drivers to pit again and fit a second set of Hard tyres. However, the timing left the pair just outside the top five as the race settled back into rhythm.
Unfortunately, Kimi’s afternoon came to a premature end when a throttle issue forced him to retire just before the deployment of the Safety Car. Once racing resumed with 10 laps to go, George showed grit and control, battling on worn tyres to bring the car home in P7.
It was a challenging day at Imola, but we regroup quickly as the team shifts focus to the glamour and grit of Monaco—next up in this intense European triple-header.
George Russell, Driver, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Today was a tough one, and P7 is certainly not where we aim to be. I struggled with the rear end of the car right from the start and couldn’t find a consistent rhythm throughout the race. The high track temperatures caused our rear axle to overheat, making it difficult to keep the tyres in the optimal performance window. That lack of balance and grip really compromised our pace — we simply couldn’t match the front-runners, so today was all about damage limitation.
Still, we’ll take what we learned from this weekend and quickly shift our focus to Monaco. I’m really looking forward to getting back on track there. We’ve shown strong and consistent qualifying form this season, and that one-lap performance will be key next weekend. Monaco is all about Saturday, and I feel confident in what we can deliver.
Kimi Antonelli, Driver, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Ending my first home Grand Prix with a DNF is a bitter pill to swallow — it’s never how you want to finish a race, especially not here at Imola. But despite the disappointment, I’ll carry some very special memories from this weekend. The support from the fans has been nothing short of incredible. Every lap, I could hear and feel their encouragement, even when things weren’t going our way.
We simply didn’t have the pace to challenge the top five today. I got a strong launch off the line, especially considering we started on the Hard tyre, and I managed to keep Lewis (Hamilton) behind me for a while. We took advantage of the Virtual Safety Car to make our stop, but soon after that, I started experiencing a throttle issue. I began losing power on the straights, and it kept worsening lap by lap until we had no choice but to retire the car. Still, we have a chance to bounce back immediately in Monaco, and we’ll take the lessons from today into that race.
Bradley Lord, Team Representative
This was, without a doubt, our most difficult Grand Prix of the season so far. A P7 finish and a DNF fall well below the standards we set for ourselves as a team.
George reported a lack of rear stability from the opening laps, which led to overheating and accelerated degradation of the rear tyres. That forced us into an early stop and a two-stop strategy. He made his second stop under the Virtual Safety Car triggered by Esteban’s retirement and managed to claw his way back into the points. During the Safety Car period following Kimi’s DNF, we opted to stay out. George fought hard to the end — he couldn’t hold off Lewis’s fresher-tyred Ferrari but did well to maintain position and bring home some points.
For Kimi, we opted for an alternate strategy, starting on the Hard compound. He made up a position at the start and was holding his ground well. After pitting under the VSC for Mediums, he was managing the tyres effectively until a throttle issue emerged. It gradually worsened and ultimately led to his retirement on lap 45 — his first DNF in Formula 1.
Overall, today was a sobering performance. Despite George’s strong qualifying, we lacked the race pace to compete with the cars around us, largely due to rear axle overheating. Our immediate priority is to understand the root cause of our tyre performance issues and make full use of the opportunity to rebound next weekend in Monaco.
