If Kimi Antonelli feels any pressure as the favourite to take the Formula One world championship at just 20 years old and in his second year in the sport, it is imperceptible. He admits F1 can be brutal but a thing of beauty too, a labour of love for the Italian who has been a revelation this season. Compelling and brilliant, that he is also endearing and likable marks Antonelli out as more than just a potential champion.
Sitting in the Mercedes motorhome it is impossible not to be struck by how young he looks, the tousled hair, engaging smile and eyes gleaming with youthful enthusiasm. He speaks with an open candour, the air of a kid in a sweetshop who still can’t quite believe all those sherbet lemons are there for the taking. It is striking precisely because so many F1 drivers lose this sense of exhilaration all too soon in their careers, and it is almost infectious.
Yet for all that his F1 career has been brief after making his debut for Mercedes last season, it has been quite the ride since he climbed into a kart as a five-year-old. Last year I probably would have said different things compared to this year, especially because I think the F1 environment is very brutal. It’s great, but at times it can be very, very brutal.
Antonelli leads the drivers’ championship, ahead of his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by a whopping 59 points. The youngster has learned hard and he has learned fast. When he made a mistake on the penultimate lap at last season’s Qatar Grand Prix, with Lando Norris passing him, he was subjected to a torrent of abuse and absurd accusations that he had moved over for the British driver, who went on to take the title.
He is self-aware to an extent that belies his years. If he must still be considered the kid in F1, he wears a personable maturity more comfortably than many of his contemporaries in the sport. On track his driving has spoken for itself this season, not least in the five consecutive wins he delivered from the Chinese to Monaco grands prix, which has put him in such a dominant championship position.
His team, from Toto Wolff down, recognise they have not only a special talent but also a special person, for whom being in F1 is a very simple and very human equation. Just to create an even better environment and I think if you’re able also to connect in that way with the team all of us are able to enjoy even more the weekend together, working together. The competitive verve of his driving style is enthralling, even as the bravura approach might obscure what is clearly an immaculate touch in a controlled, intuitive balancing of a car at its very limit.
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