Bonnington Picks the Three Drives That Defined Antonelli's Title Year

Pete Bonnington has picked the three races that defined Kimi Antonelli's march to the 2026 title — Monaco, Monza and Austin — describing the 20-year-old Italian's achievement as "mind-blowing." The Mercedes head of race engineering knows what a championship season looks like, having engineered Lewis Hamilton through six crowns between 2014 and 2020 before staying on to guide Antonelli through his rookie year.

Why it matters:

Antonelli's crown, sealed with third place in Mexico City after nine wins, makes him the youngest champion in F1 history — and it settles the biggest question hanging over Mercedes since Hamilton's departure. Bonnington is the closest witness to how it happened, and his verdict matters as the team builds around a champion rather than a prospect for the first time since 2021.

The details:

• Monaco — Bonnington called it "super special," the kind of drive that earns respect across the grid. "The way that he did it was just unbelievable."
• Monza — the standout for sheer drama. "I remember turning around thinking, 'oh, this is what the back of the grid looks like,' and then off we went. There was no stopping him."
• Austin — a "champion's drive" built on making a one-stop work against two-stopping rivals. "There's the mental pressure in the car thinking, 'I'm going to get caught,' but no, he just kept his head down," Bonnington said.
• He was quick to note the near-misses too, pointing to Silverstone, where a failure cost what would have been a strong result, and Barcelona. "It's that repeated performance that's consistent. He can drive across a range of tracks, be it overheating, tyre warm-up, whatever."

The partnership has a lighter side that Bonnington insists is functional, not frivolous. The pair have become known for pranking each other, and he argues it is central to how Antonelli copes with pressure. "It just breaks down barriers so we can have open and honest conversations because we know at the end of the day we can still have a laugh and a joke." He added that Antonelli "is the consummate professional and just such a talent."

What's next:

The target on Antonelli's back grows from here. Rivals get a winter to answer a Mercedes package that won across Monaco's low grip, Monza's straights and Austin's tyre wear — a spread that suggests the title was structural rather than a hot streak. For Bonnington, the challenge shifts from nurturing a rookie to managing a champion's expectations, a job he last did with Hamilton at his peak.