Mercedes has turned the social-media chatter around Kim KardashianPlayer·Kim Kardashian and Andrea Kimi AntonelliPlayer·Andrea Kimi Antonelli into a lighthearted paddock joke after the Monaco Grand PrixCompetition·Monaco Grand Prix. The team turned to Instagram with a playful video about the missing towel, keeping the tone firmly humorous as the clip continued to circulate online.
The moment that sparked the reaction came after Antonelli’s victory in Monaco last week, when Kardashian was filmed picking up a towel from the Mercedes area and using it before walking away with it. The footage quickly spread across social platforms, where many fans framed it as the disappearance of Antonelli’s towel and built the incident into a running meme.
Mercedes responded in kind. In the video posted on the team’s Instagram account, the message asked whether anyone had seen Antonelli’s towel, while the Italian driver was shown looking for it. The post also included George RussellPlayer·George Russell, who was asked whether he had seen his teammate’s towel, before the scene cut back to Antonelli washing his hands without anything to dry them with. Rather than amplifying the criticism, Mercedes used the clip to join the joke and underline the playful side of Formula 1Competition·Formula 1’s paddock culture.
The exchange matters less for any sporting consequence than for what it says about the modern Formula 1Competition·Formula 1 media cycle. A small moment behind the barriers in Monaco was enough to become a talking point, then a meme, then team content. Mercedes’ decision to lean into it reflects how quickly F1 teams now move to shape the narrative around viral moments, especially when they involve high-profile names outside the usual racing cast.
For Antonelli, the episode comes on the heels of a notable Monaco win that gave the towel story its starting point. For Mercedes, it offered a chance to show a lighter side after a weekend that had already put the team in the global spotlight for reasons beyond the timing screens. The story is unlikely to linger on track, but it has already done what social-media moments in Formula 1Competition·Formula 1 often do: it added another layer of personality to a championship environment that is usually defined by precision and pressure.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell race their Mercedes F1 cars at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix. IPA Sport/IMAGO
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