Kimi Antonelli is absolutely running away with the world championship in only his second season in Formula 1, currently holding a massive 81-point lead over teammate George Russell. This 20-year-old Italian driver, who was comprehensively outperformed by Russell in 2025, has made a stunning transformation that started with a damp, cold day at Silverstone earlier this year.
The Silverstone Revelation That Changed Everything For Kimi
External expectations for Antonelli were low at the start of 2026 after a tough debut season. But he says he knew from his first few laps in this year’s Mercedes, on that January day at Silverstone, that something special was brewing. “It was just a few laps in the wet,” Antonelli recalled, “but I just felt better in the car, much better than I felt last year.” It wasn’t just the car feeling good, either. He felt “mentally in the car, less tense, more relaxed and more mature.” Last year, he admits, was “not great,” saying he was “driving very tense most of the time” and “wasn’t able to extract the potential out of me.” The biggest change this season? His mindset.
Bouncing Back From Disaster: The Australia Crash
That new headspace quickly paid dividends, even when things got wild. Remember that opening race in Australia? Russell won, but Antonelli finished less than three seconds behind him. What many didn’t know was the full story behind that race. Antonelli had a “big, big crash in FP3,” which he says “definitely it compromised a little bit qualifying and the race because we couldn’t set up properly the car.” It was a miracle the mechanics got him back out. But even with the car not set up right, staying so close to Russell made him realize, “it’s not going to be a walk in the park. It’s going to be very tough,” but also that “it was a different story compared to last year.” He credits his mental strength, stating, “If it would have happened last year, I wouldn’t have been able to overcome that.” This is a guy who, just at Monza in 2024, crashed heavily on his second flying lap in his first-ever grand prix weekend outing. That incident “stayed in my head for a very long time” and made him “afraid to do a mistake.” He’s clearly shed that fear.
After 14 grand prix races, and with either eight or nine still on the calendar, Antonelli looks incredibly in control. He’s always fast, always composed, and a factor in every single grand prix. Everyone’s already calling the championship basically over, barring some wild dramatic misfortune. Yet, Antonelli insists he’s “still finding my way” in F1. Up next is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Can anyone even touch him? We’re all watching to see if he keeps this incredible run going.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by BBC Sport.
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