P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Jacques Villeneuve’s criticism of Kimi Antonelli continues following the Italian Grand Prix
1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes Kimi Antonelli is “paying the price” for high expectations set before joining Mercedes. Despite being a rookie, Antonelli has struggled in his F1 debut season, failing to outperform his teammate George Russell and falling behind in the drivers’ championship. Even at his home race in Monza, Antonelli faced challenges, including an error in FP2 and a disappointing ninth place finish after starting well. Villeneuve criticized Antonelli for not meeting the standards expected of a Mercedes driver, especially given the testing mileage he had before the season. The former champion emphasized that Antonelli’s underperformance is a result of the immense hype surrounding his entry into Formula 1, which has not been justified by his results on the track.
