Kimi Antonelli leads the Formula 1 World Championship for the first time – according to him, experience makes the biggest difference in his second year in the premier class
In just his second year in Formula 1, Kimi Antonelli is leading the drivers’ world championship for the first time. The Italian is naturally benefiting from his car, as the Mercedes W17 is the best package in the early stages of the new era in the premier class.
However, Antonelli emphasizes that he himself has also taken a “big step” forward compared to 2025. This comes as no surprise, as in his debut season, for example, all of the circuits were new territory for the teenager. This year, he already knows the courses.
And even apart from that, the 19-year-old emphasizes: “Experience makes a lot of difference. Of course, I went through a lot last year and that taught me far more than I expected. And it’s definitely helping me so far this year too.“
”Of course, there’s still a lot to do, but I definitely feel like I have a much better grip on the situation,” said Antonelli, who was already showing an upward trend at the end of 2025. In the final phase of the season, he finished on the podium twice in a row in Brazil and Las Vegas.
In 2026, he is also benefiting from the new regulations, which all riders first have to get used to. “It certainly helps that everyone has started from scratch,” he emphasizes. Because the fact that the cars are completely new means that he no longer has a disadvantage in this respect compared to the established drivers.
Antonelli admits: Russell is even better there
This also applies to his team-mate George Russell, who will be driving his eighth Formula 1 season in 2026. However, he fell behind Antonelli in the championship in Japan. “I think he’s still ahead in qualifying, especially in Q3,” admits Antonelli.
“He always manages to get that little bit extra. I’m still working on that. But as far as race pace is concerned, I think we have a really strong basis,” said the Italian. In Suzuka on Sunday, he was the fastest man in the field.
He says of Russell: “He is obviously an extremely strong, very complete driver. I think he proved that a lot last year, so it’s not going to be easy. So I have to do everything as perfectly as possible [to beat him].”
At the moment at least, there doesn’t seem to be another team in the field that can seriously challenge Mercedes in the championship. If this remains the case in the coming months, it could come down to an internal duel for the title between Antonelli and Russell.
If that is the case, Antonelli would probably be much better equipped for it than he was last year.