James Allison reveals the “very adventurous” trick behind Kimi Antonelli’s F1 title
Mercedes technical director James Allison has explained how Kimi Antonelli’s bold use of the tools on his steering wheel helped him become Formula 1’s youngest world champion.
The Italian driver secured the 2026 title at the Mexican Grand Prix at the age of 20, in only his second season in F1, and has won nine grands prix so far this year.
Speaking on the NU Silver Arrows Radio Show, Allison said Antonelli was “very, very agile” in how he uses brake migration, which changes how the braking force is shared between the front and rear of the car as a corner unfolds, and the differential.
“He is very, very adventurous: if he has a car that’s understeering in a way that he doesn’t like, he will free it up with the diff and the brake migration to allow it to turn even if it doesn’t particularly want to. And the contrary, when it feels too lively, he will close it down so that it is less so,” Allison explained.
“Now, everyone does this, but Kimi is very adventurous with it. He’s willing to go to quite extreme settings on it and do it under his own steam, trusting that he will have the control to keep the car pointed nicely to the apex. And that has been a large part of the pace that he has got from the car this year.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images
“From the moment he hits the brakes to the apex is mostly where he is taking the lap time, and he does all that with a minimum of fuss. It makes him very flexible with the car from condition to condition, and it’s been really impressive to watch.”
That speed into the corner also allows Antonelli to look after his tyres.
“If you want to see the standout performances of Kimi this year, it’s 20 laps in when everyone else has peeled into the pits and his lap times just go level,” he added. “He does it over and over and over, and he just does not damage the rear tyres because of all the work he’s doing on the entry.”
Allison also revealed the level of trust between Antonelli and his race engineer, Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington, saying the driver will simply tell him: “Well, I trust you. You do what you think is right, and I’ll try and work with what I get.”
“Bono would probably tell you that it’s been one of the most pleasurable seasons he’s had,” Allison concluded.
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