Kimi Antonelli raves about Max Verstappen: the Italian is particularly impressed by his instinct for race situations and his tactical understanding
Kimi Antonelli may already have secured eight Formula 1 victories and taken the lead in the World Championship. Nevertheless, the Mercedes driver says he still has a lot to learn from Max Verstappen’s wealth of experience.
Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver explains that he particularly admires Verstappen’s ability to recognise race situations early on and position the car accordingly. “Max has a truly incredible feel for the race and for how to position the car,” said Antonelli.
What Antonelli admires most about Verstappen
As a specific example, the Italian cites the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid. There, at the start of the race, he had battled with Lando Norris on several occasions, cutting the chicane twice in the process. In the first instance, Antonelli attempted to overtake Norris on the outside but abandoned the move and let the McLaren pass. Looking back, he sees this as a mistake.
” “When I tried to get past Lando on the outside but then abandoned the move and let him through, my mistake was letting him through straight away, because I knew Max would be going wide in the next corner.”
Verstappen had capitalised on the situation and also gained an advantage by cutting across the run-off area. For Antonelli, it is precisely this ability that is remarkable.
“Of course, he [Verstappen] must have recognised the opportunity and made the most of it. That’s always fascinating, because he can assess a situation very well in a very short space of time and always finds a gap in such a scenario to gain a position,” he says, praising Verstappen’s adaptability.
Antonelli fascinated by Verstappen’s hidden reserves
But it is not just Verstappen’s racing situations that impress Antonelli. The Mercedes driver also points to the Red Bull driver’s ability to surprisingly boost his car’s performance, particularly at crucial moments.
” Seeing him up close on the track shows how he can still turn situations around, even when things don’t look good at first,” says Antonelli. He cites Monaco as an example.
He recalls that Red Bull had been relatively far down the order in the third free practice session at the time. In qualifying, however, Verstappen then nearly secured pole position. In fact, Antonelli took pole in Monte Carlo, with Verstappen finishing second. Just 0.043 seconds separated the pair.
“What’s also great about Max is that he’s sometimes unpredictable, especially in free practice. You don’t really know what his full potential is, because when it comes down to it, he always manages to find a bit more. It’s really fascinating to see that,” Antonelli enthuses about his colleague.
The respect, however, is mutual. Verstappen himself sees no reason for Antonelli to make any fundamental changes. When asked what advice he would give the championship leader, the Red Bull driver replied: “Kimi just needs to carry on doing what he’s doing. He’s still young and right at the start of his career, but he’s already flying. It’s just working.”
