Peter Bonnington says Kimi Antonelli has now unlocked an ‘extra tenth’ just like Michael Schumacher

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Kimi Antonelli’s journey to a maiden Grand Prix victory has been aided by the expertise of Peter Bonnington as his right-hand man, and the Mercedes race engineer believes the young Italian is now well on his way to replicating the feats of Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.

Kimi Antonelli became F1’s youngest ever pole-sitter yesterday, capitalising on a mistake from George Russell to snatch a front-of-the-pack start in Shanghai.

The 19-year-old then backed it up in the Grand Prix today, showcasing an incredibly composed drive to take the chequered flag first for his maiden win in the sport ahead of his Mercedes counterpart.

It truly was a stellar performance for Antonelli at the Chinese Grand Prix, and he now stands as the second-youngest race winner in F1 behind Max Verstappen.

If it wasn’t for Ferrari’s fast-starting SF-26, the Italian would have also added a first Grand Chelem to his collection as well, with the opening lap of the race serving as the only one that he didn’t lead.

• READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli wins the Chinese Grand Prix with George Russell securing second one-two for Mercedes

Peter Bonnington makes Michael Schumacher comparison with Kimi Antonelli after maiden F1 win

During an interview with Sky Sports F1 following the podium celebrations in Shanghai, Antonelli’s race engineer, Peter Bonnington, showered his driver in plaudits.

Bonnington has worked with two of the most successful drivers in F1 history at Mercedes, serving as Michael Schumacher’s race engineer upon his return to the sport in 2010, before continuing his duties with Lewis Hamilton.

The Briton began his interview by detailing how he has been helping Antonelli’s development by utilising his previous experience with the two seven-time world champions.

He said, “With Kimi, he’s putting a lot of faith in me, a lot of trust in me, because I’ve got the experience, and he’s got the youth.

“We work differently, but I’m teaching him and taking him through the process of how we become a champion. He’s just ticked off the first step, so we need to just keep chipping away.”

The plaudits go to Kimi Antonelli, but who else in the top 10 impressed you at the Chinese Grand Prix?

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He was then asked if he’s recognised any traits in the young Italian from his respective tenures with Schumacher and Hamilton, to which he replied, “I read a book about the 10,000-hour rule, many, many years ago.

“I started to really strongly believe it, thinking, ‘Oh, if we all had enough practice, we’d be good enough.’

“And then, I met the likes of Michael, I met the likes of Lewis, and then I realised, ‘No, actually, no, there is the extra step, that extra tenth or two.’ And that’s what Kimi’s got. He got that extra tenth or two.”

• READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton pays tribute to Kimi Antonelli immediately after winning the Chinese Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli is now the second-youngest Grand Prix winner in F1 history

After usurping Sebastian Vettel as the youngest-ever pole-sitter in F1 history yesterday, Antonelli’s win today means that his name will be added to the history books for a second time this weekend.

He now stands as the second-youngest Grand Prix winner, with his trip to the top step of the podium occurring at 19 years, six months and 18 days old.

Only Verstappen ranks above the Mercedes star. His victory at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix still holds him as F1’s youngest Grand Prix winner, which looks ever-likely to remain as a record for a long while now.

Arvid Lindblad is the only driver currently on the grid who has the potential to usurp the Dutchman at the top of the list, but a lot will need to go in favour of the 18-year-old in order for him to win a race for Racing Bulls.