Kimi Antonelli says he is still learning from Max Verstappen’s racecraft, even as he leads this year’s championship by a wide margin. The 20 year old Mercedes driver spoke ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix about how watching the Red Bull driver up close has sharpened his own reading of a race.
Antonelli Pinpoints Verstappen Vision as Key Learning Curve
Antonelli has made no secret of his admiration for Verstappen’s feel for a race. Speaking in an interview with Motorsport.com, he explained what sets the Dutchman apart on track.
“Max has a really incredible vision as well of the race, how to position the car,” Antonelli said. He added: “I think also seeing him so close on track as well is how he can flip situations even when they’re not looking good.”
It’s a lesson Antonelli seems keen to absorb rather than resent, given how often Verstappen has been the one benefiting from it against him this year.
Madrid Incident Highlights Read on Track Positioning
The clearest example came at the second chicane in Madrid, where Antonelli attempted to pass Lando Norris on the outside before thinking better of it. He backed out and let Norris through, only for Verstappen to pounce moments later.
“For example, in Madrid, in the second chicane, when I tried to go on the outside of Lando and then I bailed out and let him by, my mistake there was to let him by straight away because I knew Max was going on the outside in that [next] corner,” Antonelli explained.
He rated Verstappen’s instinct for exploiting the moment. “Of course, he [Verstappen] must have seen the opportunity and went for it. That’s always fascinating because in a very short time he can read the situation well and can always, in this scenario, find a gap to get a position,” Antonelli said.
Earlier in the same race, at Turn 1, both drivers had short cut the chicane before rejoining, Antonelli ahead of Norris and Verstappen ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Small margins like these, Antonelli suggests, are exactly what he is trying to sharpen.
Championship Lead Built on Eight Grand Prix Victories
None of this has stopped Kimi Antonelli building a commanding advantage in the standings. He leads Mercedes team mate George Russell by 292 points to 211, with Verstappen back in sixth on 145 after a difficult season by his own standards.
Eight grand prix wins this year, including five in a row from China to Monaco, explain a lot of that gap. It’s a run that has made Antonelli the story of the season rather than a footnote to it.
Even Verstappen, not usually generous with praise for rivals, has been impressed. “Kimi just needs to do what he’s doing,” he said when asked if he had any advice for the teenager. He went further: “He’s still young and he’s still very early in his career, but he’s already flying. It’s just working.”
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Up Next for Mercedes
Attention now turns to Baku, where Antonelli will look to extend his lead and keep applying what he has picked up from watching Verstappen. Mercedes will hope the same racecraft that cost Antonelli position in Madrid works in his favour on the streets of Azerbaijan.
Readers wanting the wider story of how Antonelli reached this point can find it in our profile on Antonelli’s early background. For more on how teams turn numbers into performance gains, our Formula 1 data analytics insights piece is worth a look too.
