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The F1 paddock is increasingly convinced that Andrea Kimi Antonelli can win the 2026 drivers’ title as he is “gaining credibility” beyond his form, claims Riccardo Ceccarelli.
Mercedes ace Antonelli set another record amid his historic start to the 2026 F1 season with his victory in the Miami Grand Prix. The 19-year-old is now the first driver ever to score their first three wins in a row from their first three pole positions after winning in China and Japan.
Antonelli’s pole position for the Miami GP had also seen him join Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher as the only drivers in F1 history to score their first three pole positions in a row. His victory in Florida even put the Italian 20 points clear atop the 2026 F1 drivers’ standings.
Here’s how the championship standings look after the Miami GP! 🏆
The F1 paddock thinks Andrea Kimi Antonelli is acting as if he’s been on the grid for five years
Antonelli won the Miami GP after Mercedes called him in for an earlier pit stop to undercut McLaren’s Lando Norris for the lead of the race. The Bologna boy barely put a foot wrong in the closing phase to then manage his margin over the reigning champion and win by 3.264s.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli
But the attitude that Antonelli has shown off the track is what Ceccarelli feels is increasingly convincing members of the paddock that he can win the 2026 drivers’ title. Ceccarelli claims many paddock figures at Hard Rock Stadium even think he could “write motorsport history”.
Mental coach Ceccarelli, who works with drivers like Charles Leclerc, told Motorsport.com: “The main thing is that Kimi is gaining credibility that goes beyond the prestigious results he’s achieving.
“There’s widespread respect for him across the paddock, and that makes me very happy because the paddock sees the Bolognese as a champion who can shape the coming years and deliver consistent results that will write motorsport history…
“Certainly, the feeling in the paddock is that he can fight for the championship, regardless of his age – as if Kimi actually had four or five F1 seasons under his belt, and was already 23 or 24 years old.”
Do you think Kimi Antonelli will become Mercedes’ No. 1 driver?
Antonelli only made his F1 debut in 2025, and it was often suggested that Mercedes made a mistake by choosing the Italian to replace seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton. Jacques Villeneuve accused Antonelli of “getting worse” as a rookie when his results dipped in 2025.
The teenager struggled during the European leg of the season after losing confidence in his car due to Mercedes’ mid-season rear suspension update. But Antonelli started to turn the tide towards the end of 2025, and he firmly carried that momentum into the 2026 season.
Despite the vast regulation changes in 2026, having debuted in the final year of the ground-effect era, Antonelli became the youngest-ever driver to lead the F1 standings following his win in Japan. His form is even putting teammate George Russell under pressure to respond.
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