Kimi Antonelli’s summer break holiday took a turn for the worse as the Mercedes driver had to be rescued by some friends after his jet ski ran out of fuel. The Italian teenager was towed back to shore by two pals after finding himself stranded with no power. A video was published on TikTok by one of his friends. They captioned the post: “POV: giving Kimi Antonelli a ride because he ran out of fuel.”

However, the 18-year-old isn’t the only member of the Mercedes team making headlines with holiday antics during the summer break. Toto Wolff was pictured on a yacht with Max Verstappen while holidaying off the coast of Sardinia. Weeks earlier, doctored images spread around social media suggesting a holiday meeting between the duo. The reigning world champion has been linked with a switch to Mercedes throughout the 2025 season.

Verstappen committed his future to Red Bull ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, reiterating that he will be driving for the Milton Keynes squad in 2026. However, should Laurent Mekies’ team struggle at the start of the new technical regulations, a move to Mercedes could still materialise.

With Verstappen on team principal Wolff’s radar, and George Russell enjoying an exceptional year with six top-three finishes and a Grand Prix victory in Canada, Antonelli’s footing within the Silver Arrows’ organisation is uncertain.

The teenage starlet is out of contract at the end of the season, and while it is expected that he will sign a new deal soon after the summer break draws to a close, Wolff and Mercedes’ upper management will be unlikely to offer out a multi-year contract without seeing an improvement in results.

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Antonelli started his rookie campaign in fine form, dazzling in wet conditions at the Australian Grand Prix, and then rattling off four top-six finishes in the next five rounds. However, Imola sparked a downward spiral, and the Bologna-born driver now has just one top-nine finish in his last eight outings.

With his F1 future on the line, the rookie has set his sights on matching team-mate Russell before the season closes in Abu Dhabi. “My goal has to be to drive the same times as him,” Antonelli explained. “I also believe that’s possible. George is having an extremely strong season.

“He’s showing that he’s one of the best. Especially when the car is working, he demonstrates what he can do. He’s a really challenging teammate. If I were at his level at the end of the year, that would be an honour.”