Kimi Antonelli is having an up-and-down rookie season. But at the moment he is showing his potential – and can play a decisive role in the World Cup fight.
“He’s very fast”the four-time world champion Max Verstappen also found out after he had to grind his teeth lap after lap in the final stages of the Sao Paolo Grand Prix despite having fresher tires trying to overtake Kimi Antonelli in his Mercedes and push the Italian into third place.
All the deceptive maneuvers that often unsettle Verstappen’s opponents had no effect on the 19-year-old in Brazil. With second place in the sprint and main race in the home country of his great role model Ayrton Senna, the rookie experienced the best weekend of his Formula 1 career to date.
Antonelli could intervene in the world championship fight
World Championship leader Lando Norris must have been happy, after all Antonelli stole important points from the Dutchman in the World Championship fight and made his title defense almost impossible with three races to go.
With seventh place in the drivers’ standings, Antonelli is far from fighting for the title himself. But if the man from Bologna finishes on the podium more often, he could have a major influence on the title duel between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The two McLaren drivers are currently separated by 24 points.
For Piastri this means: If he wins all three remaining main races plus the sprint race in Qatar, he would still not become world champion if Norris always finishes second behind him. The Brit would only lose 22 points of his lead over Piastri.
So the Australian needs help – and Antonelli currently seems to be one of his biggest hopes.
Big problems at the races in Europe
This would have been difficult to imagine just a few weeks ago. Antonelli learned the hard way for the first time at the races in Europe that previous successes in junior series do not guarantee immediate success in Formula 1. Antonelli was repeatedly involved in accidents or made unnecessary mistakes.
“I thought that in Europe I would be able to take advantage of my experience. And then reality caught up with me and surprised me. (…) I constantly put myself under pressure, ran over the car, made mistakes that I never made before.”he explained in an interview with the Swiss daily newspaper “Blick”.
Additional unrest caused by rumors about Verstappen
The rumors surrounding Verstappen may have caused additional pressure. It was said again and again that Mercedes would like to sign the Dutchman and that this could cost the young Italian his cockpit, at least temporarily.
His father and team boss Toto Wolff finally got him out of the hole: “They kicked my ass one by one after Monza. Those verbal accusations and advice hurt, but I needed that reset.”
Thanks to Verstappen’s extension at Red Bull, the issue was settled anyway. Instead, Mercedes confirmed the contract extensions with Antonelli and teammate George Russell for another year.
Clear upward trend for Antonelli
The rookie repays this trust. Since the Formula 1 circus has been traveling outside Europe again, there has been a clear upward trend. This is a pattern that has been evident all season long – pole position for the sprint in Miami, the first podium of his career in Canada and now second place in Brazil.
Curious: Antonelli feels most comfortable on those routes that he doesn’t yet know from the junior categories. While he was only able to score three points in the European races throughout the season, he already has an impressive 119 points in the races in the rest of the world.
“When he comes to a track he doesn’t know, it’s a bit easier. The expectations are lower and the pressure isn’t as high as on some European tracks.”Wolff explains this phenomenon from his perspective.
Will Mercedes pull off another coup in Las Vegas?
The team boss and Antonelli should therefore be pleased that the last three races of the season will also take place outside Europe. Next weekend, Antonelli will once again be waiting for Antonelli on a previously unknown route, Las Vegas.
Last year, Mercedes even achieved a commanding one-two victory in the Californian desert with Russell and the then Silver Arrows driver Lewis Hamilton.
The team is expected to do something similar this season. Russell has already proven in Canada and Singapore that the car is basically capable of winning this year.
Winning a race this season is not impossible
Antonelli also believes it is possible to be at the top of the podium this season. “We know it won’t be easy, but if we carry on like we did last time and get the best out of the car, then it’s definitely doable.”he said to “Sky” after the race in Sao Paolo.
Another factor should also make the Mercedes team optimistic: the drivers can expect what will probably be the coldest race of the year in Las Vegas with temperatures in the single digits – conditions that experience has shown to suit the Silver Arrow well.
Fight against Red Bull and Ferrari for second place
Even if the eight-time constructors’ world champion no longer has any shares in the fight for the drivers’ title, there is still a lot at stake: he has to defend second place in the team rankings ahead of Red Bull (32 points behind) and Ferrari (36 points behind), which makes a difference of many millions of euros.
And by the way, Antonelli can unintentionally become a key figure in the World Cup fight. But the 19-year-old can handle this kind of pressure, as he has already proven in Brazil.