The young Italian’s first taste of Formula 1 was far from straightforward, as he struggled to match his team-mate’s pace through the opening half of the season.

Despite those difficulties, he still produced flashes of promise—most notably sprint pole in Miami and a podium finish in Canada—before coming into his own in the latter stages of the campaign, where he found greater consistency and a much stronger level of performance.

“During that difficult period, I cried a lot,” Antonelli told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I struggled especially on a mental level because I started to doubt myself.”

“You get to Formula 1—it’s the dream of your life, what you’ve worked towards for so long—and after a strong start to the season, things stop going the way you want them to. It was tough. I also lacked the composure and clarity that more experienced drivers have when it comes to dealing with a difficult moment.”

Antonelli has acknowledged that the swirl of speculation linking Max Verstappen with Mercedes over the summer proved a distraction during a demanding debut season at the top level.

Matters were complicated further during the summer break, when rumours of a potential Verstappen move to Mercedes gathered momentum across the paddock. Speculation was eventually shut down by the Dutchman himself, who confirmed at the Hungarian Grand Prix that he would stay with Red Bull Racing for the following season.

Antonelli has since admitted that the uncertainty surrounding those rumours weighed on him at the time, adding to the mental strain of an already challenging rookie campaign.