Brundle: Antonelli's British GP heartbreak a valuable 'lesson' for Mercedes teenager

The 19-year-old was chasing Leclerc down with a 10-lap tyre offset before damage to his Mercedes' wheel shield on Lap 41. The Italian was forced to pit on two occasions, and while a valiant recovery effort saw him cross the line in P9 - under the Safety Car after Max Verstappen's Lap 48 crash - a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits in his faltering W17 dropped him to an eventual P15.

The result, alongside Mercedes teammate George Russell finishing P2, has seen Antonelli's lead at the top of the standings reduce to just 25 ahead of Russell, while Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton is not far behind with just 32 between him and the teenager.

Highlighting the fact Antonelli had to pit twice to resolve the issue at Silverstone, former McLaren driver Brundle suggested the young Italian was not clear enough over the radio to race engineer Peter 'Bono' Bonnington - a lesson going forward in the 2026 title fight.

Writing in his column for Sky F1, Brundle said: "It was heartbreaking for him, but another lesson learned as he did not give clear enough information on his way into the pits about his problems.

"Kimi persevered and, still in 10th place with a potentially critical one point in his pocket, he found remarkable pace again and carried on. But with his issues he had been off the track five times and was given a five-second penalty for 'track limits'," Brundle added.

Focusing on Antonelli's five-second penalty for exceeding track limits, hardly gaining an advantage during those damage-ridden laps, Brundle suggested a rethink to the F1 rules, that such a penalty should not be applied when a driver is "surviving" through damage or getting out of the way of another driver.

"That rule needs adjusting," Brundle said. "Track limit penalties are for when drivers gain a competitive advantage by cutting corners or running wide and so able to carry more speed. They should not be applied when you're surviving a mechanical issue or getting out of the way."

Meanwhile, Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto Wolff has said he expects Ferrari to challenge the Silver Arrows "for the rest of the season," after Leclerc's first win of 2026 at Silverstone last week. Mercedes currently lead the Constructors' standings on 333 points, with Ferrari P2 on 255.

Speaking to media, including GPblog, Wolff was asked whether he was surprised by Ferrari's performance, particularly given their weaknesses on straight-line speed and Silverstone's energy-starved nature.

He said: "Well, we need to look at ourselves. They said before the weekend that they're going to be lacking energy over this track. They haven't. They were a strong competitor and this is to be expected now for the rest of the season."