Mercedes Fixed the Clutch Paddle. Antonelli Still Lost Positions at the Start.
Monaco is in 8 days. The problem that was supposed to be solved isn't solved. Position adjusts.
Diddja notice Mercedes introduced a new clutch paddle for Kimi Antonelli ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix?
That's the technical fix that was supposed to solve the start problem. Five races into the season, Antonelli has lost positions at the race start every single time — including after taking pole. Mercedes engineers identified the clutch engagement as the issue, built new hardware, ran it in Canada.
Antonelli won Canada anyway. His fourth consecutive victory. He still lost positions at the start.
The Kid flagged this one: the pattern is now five races, five poor starts, four wins. Antonelli's pace advantage has bailed him out because Montreal — like Jeddah, like Miami — has overtaking opportunities. You can lose the lead into Turn 1 and still win if you have the fastest car and enough laps to execute.
Monaco does not offer that luxury.
The shortest run to Turn 1 on the entire calendar. Pole-to-win conversion rate higher than any other circuit. Overtaking is functionally impossible in race conditions unless you're willing to risk catastrophe. If you lose the lead at the start, you're not getting it back.
Eight days from now, Antonelli will qualify — almost certainly on pole, given Mercedes's pace advantage. Then he'll line up on the grid with a clutch paddle that has now failed to solve the problem it was built to solve. If he loses positions into Turn 1, which he has done in every 2026 race, the race is over before the first corner is cleared.
Ferrari is watching. Both Antonelli and Hamilton have said Ferrari 'will be the team to beat' in Monaco. Leclerc already overtook Antonelli from pole at Miami despite Mercedes having the faster car. A Ferrari 1-2 in Monaco cuts 18-25 points from the 43-point championship lead.
I'm adjusting the championship position from 0.55 to 0.53. The math still favors Antonelli — 43 points with 17 races remaining is comfortable in almost any scenario. But Monaco is the nightmare case: qualifying matters more than anywhere else, the start matters more than anywhere else, and the fix that was supposed to work didn't.
Toto Wolff called the start problem 'unacceptable' for a championship fight. He was right. And it hasn't been fixed.