Antonelli says he feels stronger and more in control
- Last updated: April 18, 2026 | 09:57
Formula One leader Kimi Antonelli said he felt stronger and more in control as he seeks to raise the bar with every race in his second season in the sport.
The 19-year-old Mercedes driver leads teammate George Russell by nine points in the standings after winning two of three races this season.
Next month he returns to Miami where last year he took pole position for the Saturday sprint and qualified third for the main grand prix.
Mercedes have been dominant in the first season of a new era on both the engine and chassis side and Russell has been his biggest rival, with Mercedes one-two in the opening two rounds.
“I think it’s been a better start than what we all anticipated and hoped for, at least on my side,” Antonelli told reporters on a video call ahead of a weekend without racing after rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were called off due to the Iran war.
“I just really want to focus on the present and how I can maximise every time I go in the car...focusing on the process and little by little trying to raise the bar, raise the game, because George is super strong and competitors will get closer.”
Antonelli said the break since he won in Japan at the end of March had allowed him time to reflect and take in everything that had happened, as well as step up his training and fitness levels, but it was beginning to feel a bit too long and he just wanted to get back on track.
The first Italian to win back-to-back races since Alberto Ascari in 1953, and the youngest championship leader, has been working on the simulator at home and keeping busy by driving other kinds of cars.
“I think overall I feel stronger, I feel more in control of the situation,” he said.
“Having done all the tracks last year, it’s helping this year so far...I know better how to move around, how to manage myself during the weekend. And so definitely the experience of last year is playing a massive role into this year so far...I just feel more relaxed, more confident.
“And as I said before, more in control of the situation.”
Meanwhile, Russell said he would understand if Max Verstappen walked away from Formula One in the sport’s new era and he would not be surprised either way.
Speaking to reporters via a video call on Friday, on what would have been a Saudi Grand Prix weekend but for the cancellation of April Middle Eastern races due to the Iran war, the Mercedes driver said his old rival’s current frustration was “only natural”.
Red Bull’s four-times world champion Verstappen has been a vocal critic of the new rules and engines, and what he calls “anti-racing”, and has said he will be doing “stuff that makes me smile” in the downtime before F1’s next race in Miami in May.
“Formula One’s bigger than any driver,” said Russell when asked if he felt there was a danger Verstappen could decide he’d had enough. “You wouldn’t want to lose Max because I think we all enjoy racing against Max,” he added.
“You do understand and recognise the frustration but he’s achieved what most drivers dream of, winning a championship. He’s got four of them. And at the end of the day I guess you get to a point in life that you want, there’s not really much more for him to achieve in Formula One.”
Reuters