Kimi Antonelli admits he’s already made a ‘dangerous’ decision amid title fight with George Russell

Follow us on Google Discover

Andrea Kimi Antonelli admits he has kept the reports from his first F1 wins to revel in the joy, despite it being “dangerous” amid the drivers’ title fight with George Russell.

Mercedes look set to have an internal battle on their hands for the F1 drivers’ championship in 2026, after enjoying a perfect start to the term. Russell won the Australian Grand Prix and also the Sprint in Shanghai, before Antonelli won the Chinese GP as well as the Japanese GP.

Antonelli scoring back-to-back wins during rounds two and three of the 2026 F1 season also ensured he hit the April break leading the drivers’ standings by nine points over Russell. The 19-year-old even became the youngest driver by three years to ever lead the championship.

Topping the table continued his record-breaking start to what is only his second year on the grid, too. Antonelli scored his first F1 Grand Prix pole in China to also become the youngest-ever to start on pole, which he converted to also become the second-youngest race winner.

Change Riccardo Patrese’s mind… Explain why George Russell is good enough to be an F1 world champion 👇

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Kimi Antonelli admits it is ‘dangerous’ that he is revelling in his first F1 wins in China and Japan

Antonelli produced a commanding race to win the Chinese GP, which would have even been his maiden Grand Slam were it not for Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton briefly taking the lead at the start. A safety car helped Antonelli win the Japanese GP, after he fell back after a poor start.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Bologna boy Antonelli claims starting his second season in F1 with two wins from the three rounds “absolutely” feels like a movie. The Italian even bought the newspaper after each of his wins so he can revel in the joy, even if doing so can be “dangerous” amid an F1 title fight.

“Yes, absolutely, especially in moments like after the victory,” Antonelli told BILD. “It’s crazy how much interest there was in me.

“I bought the newspapers the next day, read them, and I’m going to keep them. Because, of course, you enjoy it, and it feels good, but it’s also dangerous.”

Kimi Antonelli is ‘confident’ he can beat George Russell to win the 2026 F1 drivers’ title

Antonelli has not had a flawless start to the 2026 season, but the circumstances that Russell has faced have helped him to top the standings. Russell did not deal with overtaking Ferrari’s Hamilton and Charles Leclerc as easily in China and got unlucky with the safety car in Japan.

Mercedes faced a big rebuilding job after Antonelli crashed during FP3 in Australia, but the Italian bounced back to qualify P2. Antonelli must work on his race starts, as well, after his poor race starts during the Australian GP, the Sprint in Shanghai and also the Japanese GP.

Antonelli is “confident” that he has what it takes to win the F1 drivers’ title this term, which would be another record. Sebastian Vettel currently holds the record for being the youngest drivers’ champion at 23 years, four months and 11 days old, which Antonelli would destroy.

He said: “Experience is my biggest weakness compared to drivers like George, no question. You can’t buy that. But I’m confident that I’d still have a chance if the opportunity arose.

“I’ve been working towards this for many years, and my victory showed that I can beat anyone if I perform to my potential. But to do that, I need to get the basics right. My team and I constantly remind ourselves of that.”