There’s a new sheriff in town
Andrea Kimi Antonelli almost risks no longer making headlines, even though it’s only his second career success in Formula 1. And while his records continue to be counted – he is the youngest ever World Championship leader, as well as the first Italian to achieve two consecutive victories since Alberto Ascari (and that was in the 50s) – the Mercedes home talent admits he still has to take steps forward to fully consider himself in the fight for the title. Starting, above all, with the management of starts, given that his race was complicated by that slow-motion getaway that made him slip into sixth position a few meters after the start.
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s comment
“Mamma mia! Fortunately – Kimi Antonelli explains to Sky microphones after the end of the Japanese GP – now I have three weeks to try to understand how to make decent starts every time I go into a race. It’s a shame because during the weekend, in free practice, I felt quite good at the start, but there on the grid my fingers slipped a bit, I didn’t have a great grip on the clutch and this meant that I released the pressure on the lever a bit more than I should have, and so I spun the rear wheels. It’s a detail that needs to be improved because today it went luckily with the Safety Car, even if the pace was truly incredible, honestly”.
And it is indeed precisely that, the unsustainable pace for anyone, George Russell included, that turns the spotlight on the 19-year-old who, who knows, perhaps could have won even without the stroke of luck caused by the entry of the Safety Car at the right moment: “Throughout the weekend I felt very good in the car. Certainly the Chinese GP took a big weight off my shoulders, and at the wheel I immediately felt calmer. Obviously there is still a lot of work to do and we will have to continue to raise the bar, because the opponents will get closer. George anyway is very fast and will return to the top. For this reason I have to work on the details, which are the ones that will then make the difference”.
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Can the World Championship dream be a reality?
Meanwhile, there is the leadership of the standings, a result that was at least unexpected until a few weeks ago: “I didn’t expect it and it’s nice, but I don’t want to think about it too much because there are still 19 races left until the end of the World Championship. The championship is still very long and it is fundamental to maintain this level of form and indeed try to improve it every time. The car is really fast and we are in a great position. I am happy and in these three weeks to be able to enjoy some rest. For sure I will practice with the clutch and analyze these three races well, trying to return to the track even stronger”, concluded Kimi Antonelli after the 2026 F1 Japanese GP.
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