Ahead of the F1 Qatar GP weekend, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have praised Kimi Antonelli for his excellent performances recently.
Following a terrible run of form and results after his maiden podium in Canada, the 19-year-old Italian driver has bounced back in the last couple of months. A return to Mercedes’ old rear suspension certainly helped.
A P4 in Baku, P5 in Singapore and P6 in Mexico showed signs of him getting to grips with things. However, it’s the last two rounds where things have really clicked in São Paulo (P2) and Las Vegas (P3).
Max Verstappen discusses his viral reaction to Kimi Antonelli telling him about his result at the F1 Las Vegas GP
As Max Verstappen was in Parc Fermé celebrating his victory last Saturday, Kimi Antonelli went to congratulate him. Upon finding out the result of the Italian that was P5 before the disqualification of the McLaren cars, the Dutchman produced a shocked but impressed face.
Asked about it in his F1 Qatar GP print media session, the four-time World Champion reflected on the stellar drive from the Mercedes driver. A 48-lap stint on hards was eventually rewarded with a podium. Antonelli took over 10s out of George Russell in the last 17 laps, too.
Verstappen is also massively impressed by the fact his two podiums at the last couple of rounds have come at tracks Antonelli never raced on previously.
“Yeah, very good [job].
“I mean, honestly, I was of course doing my own race and it was always just between myself, Lando [Norris] and George [Russell]. So I didn’t really pay a lot of attention to what was happening behind that.
“But yeah, when he told me that, I was like, ‘wow, that’s really good.’ And then of course, I saw also the way that he did it to keep the tyres alive. I think he did an incredible stint, even compared to George in the same car.
“So yeah, he’s been performing really well and he’s been performing really well on tracks that he didn’t know. So that’s even more impressive, I would say.
“And it’s something that I personally wasn’t too surprised about, that he would do it. I think you just need to let it happen. Don’t overdrive or force it too much. And maybe that was happening earlier in the season.
“I’m happy for him. It’s great to see.
“And yeah, I hope that it can continue in that way.”
Antonelli holding off Verstappen in Brazil
Pushed on his battle with the Italian at Interlagos, the 69-time race winner said maybe he could have got a pass completed with another lap. Antonelli got a little deep into turn 8 on the final tour but managed to hold on by 0.3s as they crossed the line.
“Brazil, yeah, good. I mean, of course, I was pushing as hard as I could to get by, try to put him under pressure.
“But unfortunately, I would say one lap short, but that’s how racing is, right? You cannot say that an extra lap is needed.
“But again, that was a very strong performance from his side.”
Lewis Hamilton joins Max Verstappen in praising Kimi Antonelli ahead of the F1 Qatar GP
Kimi Antonelli was chosen to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. The Brit made the shock decision to join Ferrari in 2025 back in February of 2024.
Heading into this weekend, Lewis Hamilton is 15 points clear of Kimi Antonelli. They are in a fight for P6 in the Drivers’ Championship. The driver of car #12 has taken 34 points out of the 105-time race winner in Brazil and Las Vegas.
The seven-time F1 World Champion commended the Italian for his recent upturn in form.
“I mean, I haven’t worked with Kimi, but I’m enjoying watching him grow as a man and as a driver.
“I think he’s done an amazing job this year. Particularly in the second half of the season, he’s really stepped it up.
“So, I’m really happy to see that, and we have a great relationship.”
