Franco Colapinto’s teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli shocked the Formula 1 world this season, delivering a performance that left veterans speechless. Max Verstappen heaped praise on the youngster, noting, “At his age, to be so solid, not make big mistakes, and also beat your experienced team-mate, he has driven incredibly. I’m very proud of him and how he has handled himself this whole season.”
Lando Norris, the outgoing world champion, echoed the sentiment, calling Antonelli a genuine and kind soul whose driving has exceeded all expectations. “It couldn’t have gone to a better person,” Norris said. “He has driven unbelievably well this year, better than what everyone was expecting of him. He has gone up against the best drivers in the world, all in very good cars, and he has blown everyone away.”
Norris continued, emphasizing the magnitude of Antonelli’s achievement: “He has made everyone else look silly. He has driven that well and he has been able to click with his car, working hard to understand how to drive it and exploiting it better than anyone else. So he should be very proud. He has achieved history and I am very happy for him.”
Antonelli’s journey to this historic season was anything but easy. Reflecting on last year’s challenges, he said, “The fact that some people said I wasn’t belonging in F1, or I wasn’t ready for it— which at some point last year I probably looked like I wasn’t— being able to experience those moments made me much more ready ahead of this year. Experiencing really low and difficult situations, high-pressure moments really helped me to face certain situations this year and definitely they made me mature a lot as a driver, as a person.”
He added, “Still this year I’ve had moments where I could have done better, a lot better, so it’s just a constant learning process. Last year, being able to race straight into Mercedes, obviously straight under the spotlight, made me grow much faster than if I would have gone to a smaller team, for example.”
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