Could Kimi Antonelli be the next great F1 driver?
Author(s): Lucian Raileanu
Date: 2026-05-12
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"Do you think Kimi Antonelli could rival Verstappen, Hamilton, or Senna in terms of skill?"
As Kimi Antonelli crossed the line to first place in Miami last week, I found myself wondering if we could be watching another legend emerging. This season, we witnessed as Kimi broke records by: 1. bringing his first three pole positions to a race win; 2. becoming the youngest polesitter ever; and 3. becoming the youngest championship leader ever.
His impressive skill, especially at this age, is nothing that we should turn a blind eye to. He could be compared to Max Verstappen, who was also performing very well at a young age. While many people seem to be giving the powerful Mercedes car the credit for his success, we still saw exceptional performance in his rookie year last year. He was one of the highest-ranked rookies in terms of points at the end of the season.
He's gotten so good to the point that there have been rumors that drivers like Max (who has a track record of advising and helping rookies) has stopped giving Antonelli advice, and for good reason as Kimi is now a serious title contender.
However, things could change. His success could be due to the car, and he could fall behind later in the season as more teams (such as McLaren, following their amazing Miami weekend) get used to the regulations and fine tune the speed of their cars to push more competition. We just have to see how the rest of the season plays out.
Remember that question from earlier? I asked some fellow motorsports fans about their opinions on this and told them to answer that question in a few sentences. Here's some that I got back[1]:
"Kimi Antonelli has been showing exceptional skill and reflexes in the past seasons. At such a young age, he is going head to head with the best of the best, especially this season. While some may contribute his success to the success of the car, there is no denying that he has incredible talent and works hard to his goals. If he sticks with Mercedes, I think he can go on to break more records. He still has time to improve, and be even greater. - L."
"Kimi Antonelli, a new phenomenon that Mercedes AMG has deeply invested in the past year, will most definitely become the new "Goat" of the sport, in contention for the title with the likes of Sir Lewis Hamilton, Max Versappen, Senna and Schumacher. If the regulations favor Mercedes, we may see a new version of Max's domination during 2023, and a new record for the least seasons to win a World Driver Cup. He will certainly be a amazing to watch for future seasons and is definitely a driver to watch for for future races. - F."
"In all honesty, although Kimi Antonelli has been dominating the recent tracks, leading the driver championship, he still has a lot to prove. Hamilton, Verstappen, Schumacher, and Senna had beaten their teammate almost every single time. In the same car, they beat some of the best drivers in Formula 1. Even when they didn't have that good of a car, they kept consistent in terms of placements. As of currently, it is pretty clear that Mercedes are lengths ahead of their competitors. Kimi is looking pretty promising, although we still need more information on his ability to drive when his car is not better than the rest of the grid. - J."
Overall, Kimi Antonelli is surely one to watch. We could be watching a legend emerge, or we could be watching a long stroke of luck. We'll surely be reporting on it, so check back for new developments.
Thoughts? Share them on our Discord in #f1-general!
These answers were submitted by personal interviews. We have no guarantee if any forms of generative AI were used in these responses. ↩︎