Kimi Antonelli urges Mercedes to fix reliability after costly Barcelona retirement

Kimi Antonelli has warned Mercedes cannot afford more reliability failures after a late-race retirement cost him second place at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. The Italian was running second when his car suffered a terminal issue, marking the team's second major power unit failure in just three races following George Russell's DNF two rounds earlier.

Why it matters:

With Mercedes chasing its first F1 title since 2021, every point is critical in a tight championship fight. Repeated mechanical failures threaten to undermine a competitive package and hand rivals a decisive edge if the pattern persists.

The details:

• Antonelli was on course for second in Barcelona before his late retirement, a loss made worse after he had just overtaken teammate Russell.
• The failure comes just two races after Russell suffered a power unit issue, suggesting a worrying trend rather than isolated bad luck.
• Antonelli told media the reliability situation is "a bit of a concern" and stressed Mercedes "need to work on" it to stop losing valuable points.
• The rookie noted tyre overheating in dirty air made passing difficult before his decisive move on Russell.
• Despite the DNF, Antonelli praised the race pace and said the car had the speed to capitalize once the opportunity came.

What's next:

Mercedes faces a race against time to fix its power unit fragility before the next round. With both drivers losing major results to mechanical issues, another failure could deal a severe blow to title hopes. Antonelli will aim to convert his strong Barcelona pace into a clean finish next time out.