Fresh off securing his world championship title in Mexico and celebrating Mercedes' constructors' crown in Brazil, Formula 1 world champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli is already looking ahead to the future, as FormulaUno.it reports from a recent press conference in Italy where the driver spoke with various media outlets, including AutoRacer and Giuliano Duchessa.
Despite a dominant start to the year, Antonelli admits that Mercedes no longer holds a clear advantage on track, noting that rivals have closed the gap significantly. According to the champion, Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren have made major strides with updates and power unit understanding, making the competitive order fluctuate wildly from circuit to circuit under the constraints of the budget cap.
Da un certo punto di vista è eccitante perché, nonostante il regolamento sia lo stesso, si ripartirà da zero,
Mercedes is currently grappling with a recent upgrade package that appears to have fallen short. Echoing earlier admissions by Toto Wolff that something went wrong with the latest development path, Antonelli revealed that the final three races will serve a dual purpose: pushing for victories and conducting crucial aerodynamic testing to unlock the package's full potential and clarify the team's direction for next season.
Looking further ahead to 2027, Antonelli warned that the regulatory shifts will have a stark impact on the machines, stating it will be "like starting from zero." The changes will notably reduce downforce, with Antonelli pointing to the banning of Ferrari's FTM wing—a device he confirms provides a massive amount of load—and reductions to the front area of the plank as major hurdles that teams are already fighting to recover.
Powertrain dynamics will also shift with a modified split between the internal combustion engine and electric power designed to ease energy management issues seen this year. Combined with structural changes to the front tires, the overall behavior of the car remains an unknown quantity.
"Da un certo punto di vista è eccitante perché, nonostante il regolamento sia lo stesso, si ripartirà da zero," Antonelli noted, emphasizing that the team must prepare to outwork the competition as development ramps up for the 2027 campaign.
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