Kimi Antonelli could only manage fifth at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after reporting problems with his W17.

After qualifying third, the 2026 champion was promoted to second following a grid penalty for Mercedes teammate George Russell. Antonelli passed Lando Norris at the start for the lead and maintained that advantage in the first stint.

David Coulthard criticises Kimi Antonelli for not being precise over the radio about his car problems in Sao Paulo

Norris won the race while Antonelli continued to struggle at turn one, running wide on numerous occasions. Teammate Russell was also having trouble, as he spun at the pit exit and was lucky not to hit anyone.

In the end, Antonelli came home fifth after being told to swap positions with his teammate. The Sao Paulo Grand Prix is only the fourth time he has been off the podium in 2026.

He collected a decent haul of points that helped Mercedes win the constructors’ championship, but David Coulthard was not too impressed with his radio messages.

Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, Coulthard criticises Antonelli for not being precise over the radio about his issues with the car.

“Well, here at the risk of daring to make a criticism of the new world champion who, as you know, I’m a big, big fan of how he’s gone about his business,” he said.

“But there was a point he came on the radio and said there’s something weird with the car. Full stop. And it’s like, OK Kimi, I’m thinking, how about you give us a guide here?

“There’s something weird with the right rear. There’s something weird with the braking. There’s something weird with the engine. The engineer is not a mind reader, taught psychologist.