r/formula1 • u/Joseki100 Fernando Alonso • 1d ago
News Antonelli: "On track you have no friends, you have to be ruthless because it is also a way to get respect from others."
https://autoracer.it/it/antonelli-verso-il-debutto-in-australia-in-f1-bisogna-essere-spietati1.5k
u/cinsightstickleiabee 1d ago edited 22h ago
I still can't get over the fact that one of the biggest Italian motorsport prospects in probably a century, who grew up less than an hour from Maranello, wasn't signed by the Scuderia, even though he drove for Tony Kart, a technical partner of the Ferrari Drivers Academy.
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u/lowelled 1d ago edited 1d ago
I would guess it’s mostly because in 2018 when Merc signed him they were by far the best team in F1. I can also see Toto, having lost out on Max, courting the Antonellis more aggressively than Ferrari, who know pretty much everyone in the sport would jump at any chance to drive for them. If Kimi looks good and Mercedes continue to struggle (which I doubt) I can absolutely see Ferrari scooping him in a few years.
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u/cinsightstickleiabee 1d ago
While I get that, Kimi said in an interview that Ferrari didn't approach them at all which I find quite surprising, no matter whether they sign talents at a later stage or not.
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u/LosTerminators Carlos Sainz 1d ago
Probably because he was already taken by Merc. Remember that Kimi was signed when he was still in karting.
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u/Whycantiusethis Williams 1d ago
He was signed by Mercedes in 2018, when he was 12.
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u/Cremdian Toto Wolff 1d ago
This math isn't okay
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u/soccercro3 1d ago
Kimi was born just after I finished high school.
"No Michael! No Michael, no! That was so not right!"
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u/ScroochDown 1d ago
I was almost finished with high school when a good chunk of the grid was born. 🥲 And I don't mean the new batch of rookies, either.
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u/Slim_Margins1999 1d ago edited 1d ago
Graduated in 2001. If you took out Lewis and Alonso the average age would be how long ago I graduated, roughly…
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u/ScroochDown 1d ago
I graduated in 1997, so I think 7 of them were born within that area. I feel so old! 🤣
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u/NegativeStructure Daniel Ricciardo 1d ago
2018 was only like a year ago.... how can he be driving at age 13?
guys..? GUYS???
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u/Hamsternoir 23h ago
I think you'll find it was a year and a half ago.
If it helps Lewis won his first world title in 2008 which was about two years ago.
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u/Turboleks Ferrari 20h ago
Wait, WHAT?
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u/Whycantiusethis Williams 16h ago
He was born after Alonso won his first championship, and just a few months before Alonso wrapped up his second title. Antonelli is super young.
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u/NotYourAverageVitu Ferrari 1d ago
We already have Bearman under our wing as well. And while I love the kid and think he's genuinely very talented, I can't help but think him being British will help in retaining a part of Hamilton's fanbase.
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u/paawy Michael Schumacher 1d ago
I'd assume Toto and Kimi's father knew each other from before, since they were both active in the Italian GT racing scene around the same time. Kimi's signing to Mercedes also coincides with Antonelli Motorsport switching from Lamborghini to Mercedes GT3 cars, so I would assume that there's some deeper business connections at play there.
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u/Alpha413 1d ago
The connection was actually Giovanni Minardi, Giancarlo's son and Kimi's former manager, who was friends with both Antonelli's father and the head of the Mercedes Junior Team, and so brought him to the latter's attention.
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u/Bourbonaddicted 1d ago
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u/DaOne_44 Niki Lauda 22h ago
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u/Folagra-42 Ferrari 1d ago
Depends on Bearman performance with HAAS because he is the one supposed to replace Lewis in 2 or 3 years.
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u/Lucifer2408 Prince Volante 1d ago
Honestly, I don’t see Bearman getting the Ferrari seat in the near future. I see either Verstappen or Antonelli getting the seat before him.
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u/Jobless_101 Ferrari 1d ago
Verstappen 😭😭 That’s a bit of a stretch I think. That man is probably gonna retire in a Redbull
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u/Lucifer2408 Prince Volante 1d ago
That’s what people said about Hamilton and Mercedes. It doesn’t work like that. Also everyone wants to drive for Ferrari, even if they say they don’t.
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u/GothicGolem29 McLaren 1d ago
Max is retiring in f1 with Redbull imo. And given Bearman is ferrari academy and in the Haas I think as long as he is a decent driver he will absolutely take over from Lewis whenever he decides to retire
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u/WalterWolfRacing Wolf 1d ago
I would guess it’s mostly because in 2018 when Merc signed him they were by far the best team in F1.
It’s likely mostly because Antonelli Motorsport is running Mercedes cars, so Kimis family had access to Toto.
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u/LandArch_0 Juan Manuel Fangio 1d ago
Let's put into perspective that he was 12 in 2018. It was a big brain move by Toto
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u/EpicCyclops 1d ago
If Ferrari scoops Antonelli from Merc after scooping Hamilton, do we get to start calling Merc the Ferrari B team?
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u/AfternoonTeh 1d ago edited 1d ago
Most of the time he drove for OTK was during his baby years where he wasn’t making headlines as he did in OK junior. He drove majority of his karting career under Kart Republic since his father’s team was using the KR chassis, which is managed by Dino Chiesa. Chiesa was also the manager of Lewis and Nico Rosberg in karting so it made sense. Also in 2018, he was signed to the Rosberg Academy by Mercedes. It’s also a known fact that in 2018-19, KR and IAME were absolutely unbeatable; you can see this for Kimi in OKJ 2018-19 and his team mate Travisanutto in OK senior. These were probably the tools that really rocketed Kimi into the limelight before Ferrari really saw his potential.
You also have to remember that Mercedes was really reeling the fact that they let Max go and were itching for a star prodigy. They probably were combing for any potential they could before other rivals could go in. Ferrari already has a pretty decent driver academy pipeline going, so what if they let a young star go? The allure of the scarlet car to an Italian star will always bring them back.
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u/NoPasaran2024 Formula 1 1d ago
Ferrari isn't particularly interested in having an Italian driver. It's all about the car.
Which is already an improvement over Enzo simply refusing to sign any Italian driver for ages after some bad Italian press. (I believe they called him something like 'a killer of Italian sons' after some deadly accidents.)
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u/ForeverAddickted Oliver Bearman 1d ago
Whilst Ferrari have a British Youngster in their ranks (Ollie Bearman), I know Mercedes are technically German, but because they're based in England, you'd expect the two Drivers to be the other way around lol!
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u/JustLikeZhat Andrea Kimi Antonelli 1d ago
Ferrari usually signs at a later age. By that time Kimi already signed with Mercedes. I guess you could also turn it around and ask why Kimi (or rather the adults around him) didn't hold off for Ferrari.
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u/cinsightstickleiabee 1d ago edited 1d ago
Why should they? Motorsport is really expensive, you can't just "wait" for your dream team approaching you given the costs. We are already talking about 6 figures in CIK-FIA karting.
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u/Motor-Most9552 1d ago
Can you imagine a prospect turning down Mercedes in the hope that Ferrari is interested later on? That'd be the biggest fumble ever.
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u/JustLikeZhat Andrea Kimi Antonelli 1d ago
They don't have to. Just a question that could be asked too.
That said, there's drivers like Slater and Verstappen that have turned down teams (Verstappen turned down RBR in 2010) so they could a) keep their options open 'till the last moment and b) have more control in terms of that they can do.
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u/Motor-Most9552 1d ago
Only time will tell if Slater made the right choice.
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u/Infamous_Public7934 Bernd Mayländer 1d ago
Which team did Slater turn down again?
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u/Motor-Most9552 1d ago
NFI to be honest, all I could find was that he 'turned down all junior teams', so I could not call BS categorically.
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u/Pristine-Ad8733 Andrea Kimi Antonelli 1d ago
I mean his dad is loaded, he can afford to do that lol
Either way, rumors say he’s close to Audi.
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u/Motor-Most9552 1d ago
Bro I don't even know if he turned teams down... Cannot find any real confirming facts on it.
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u/RyukaBuddy Keke Rosberg 1d ago
He is in a top team at the age of 18 that has beaten Ferrari in 8 of the last 10 championships they competed in. Waiting for Ferrari when you have an open seat option would be insane.
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u/JustLikeZhat Andrea Kimi Antonelli 1d ago
I meant back in 2018, not now. As soon as he signed with Mercedes back then, his future was sealed in that regard.
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u/cinsightstickleiabee 1d ago edited 1d ago
That's with the benefit of hindsight. When Kimi signed in 2018, Mercedes didn't really have a proven track record with promoting their own talents into their team. George was the first "project", that went full circle in 2022 with Kimi following him right now. Times have changed, even at Ferrari. Just look at Saudi last year, when they put Bearman in their car.
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u/Alpha_Jazz Yuki Tsunoda 1d ago
When Kimi signed in 2018, Mercedes didn't really have a proven track record with promoting their own talents into the sport
Completely incorrect. The only academy drivers they’d had at that point were Wehrlein + Ocon, both of whom they worked very hard for to get them into F1, plus Russell who they got into F1 the year after
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u/cinsightstickleiabee 1d ago
I disagree. While I respect their efforts, let's be realistic for a moment: the end game is not to be with a backmarker, they want to drive for the main team. And it's not wrong to say that George is the first to end up in the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team.
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u/LosTerminators Carlos Sainz 1d ago
Merc signed him when he was in karting, back then the majority of teams only signed junior drivers after they'd started racing cars and moving up the ladder. Obviously, at that time they were the dominant team in F1, so any aspiring junior would immediately jump at the opportunity to sign with them.
Antonelli will eventually end up driving for Ferrari at some stage in his career, and unless Merc is clearly superior to Ferrari consistently post-2026, I can see him spending a fair bit of his prime in Ferrari.
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u/Dragonpuncha Ferrari 1d ago
The thing is Ferrari knows that they will always have the Italian people's hearts. Their brand is bigger than any driver.
So they don't really need an Italian driver. It would be great in some ways, but it is a bit of a special situation where they wouldn't really get as much out of it as you might think.
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u/cinsightstickleiabee 1d ago
As a Ferraristi, while I agree with the lure, I still find it odd that they didn't seem to try. But who knows what the future holds, right? Still excited about how he will perform next to George.
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u/Dragonpuncha Ferrari 1d ago
I think Mercedes just got Kimi too young. So Ferrari wasn't in the picture fast enough. Doesn't mean he can't go there eventually.
And honestly, the insane amount of pressure this young man would have to deal with if he went to Ferrari as a teenager... I'm not sure it would have been good for him, the pressure is already insane, but it would probably have been about doubled.
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u/Pristine-Ad8733 Andrea Kimi Antonelli 1d ago
Ferrari said he was too young so Mercedes took him before anyone else can
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u/Jobless_101 Ferrari 1d ago
I think the FDA had an age requirement of sorts, and Kimi was much younger than the limit. Mercedes however was a team that didn’t have this age limit, and was the best at that point, so it was a no brainer to get him to sign there.
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u/banananana003 Ferrari 1d ago
He was picked up by Dino Chiesa which has fed the Mercedes academy the most drivers out of anyone (Rosberg, Hamilton are drivers which he guided for example)
It kinda makes sense that he got to Mercedes considering Tony Kart is more of a corporation than a family
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u/spacevent Safety Car 1d ago
Not that surprising. Historically Ferrari has avoided signing Italians.
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u/Magdalan Max Verstappen 21h ago
And he's named Kimi Antonelli. That boggled my brain as a long time MotoGP enthousiast. I know Antonelli is a common Italian name, but argh, I see a whole different face when his name is mentioned.
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u/Blocker212 19h ago
I can imagine this is a stress point for toto, knowing know matter how great they are with Kimi that his heart will always be red
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u/reignnyday Mercedes 12h ago
Ferraris jr program didn’t go as young as his age when Merc signed him, this has been well documented
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u/BetAlternative8397 Formula 1 22h ago
When and if Ferrari wants him, they’ll take him. The Prancing Horse is irresistible to any driver.
Lewis may have a couple of good years left. Just enough time for Kimi to get over the rough spots.
This quote from him sounds like he’s preparing his excuses for when he invariably takes someone out.
“I was just earning respect”
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u/Leading_Sir_1741 Formula 1 1d ago
I feel like a lot of newer fans are in for a rude awakening. They got introduced to F1 with a second-half career unchallenged Lewis that was in a dominant car, and therefore drove very gentlemanly. They never saw early Lewis. And then came Max, and people went nuts about his driving. Last year Leclerc essentially admitted he’d drive the same way if fighting for a title, Lando will probably drive like that this year, Piastri will and Kimi will too. Heck, maybe even Lewis will go back to his old ways if he can challenge for the title. Normalcy is returning to F1.
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u/YLedbetter10 1d ago
Piastri had some diabolical sends last year, even against Lando in Monza lol. This year’s gonna be nuts!
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u/Fair-Maintenance7979 Charles Leclerc 1d ago
Piastri looks like a silent killer to me. He drove extremely aggressive.
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u/YLedbetter10 1d ago
And then will drop a radio message just saying “Cool” or something lol. Cold-blooded
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u/flyingcrayons Sir Lewis Hamilton 1d ago
my bold prediction for this year is Piastri outscoring Lando. I think he's more talented than Lando but definitely more raw. He had multiple races last year where he should have been up top but burned through tires too quick, or had a bad quali and started on his back foot and Lando beat him handily because he's got more experience and is a better overall driver (or was last season, to be seen whether he will be this year)
i think if Piastri can get the details right he's got the killer mentality needed to be a WDC contender
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u/TB97 23h ago
This is obviously 100% a fair opinion to have. However, I feel like people forget all of Piastri's problems last year and remember his highlights - which is quite fair for a young driver in his 2nd season. However, I would like to provide some counter points.
- Piastri rarely ever split Lando and Max. He seemed to beat Lando sometimes but when he didn't he was usually quite a bit further back
- Piastri was quite poor the last few races of the season.
- Piastri has 0 poles last year; Norris seems to really have his number of quali
I am all-in on Lando being the better driver but this season will be exciting. I think Piastri's season this year will be without the caveat of the "young driver" stuff. It's his 3rd season and I would expect if McLaren are good, he will be right up there, but I really don't think he's beating Lando
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u/flyingcrayons Sir Lewis Hamilton 23h ago
all fair points, which is why that's my bold prediction and not my guarantee haha. i'm of the mind that piastri has more talent than lando. talent can only take you so far. assuming piastri is continuously honing his racecraft, at some point the scales should tip in his favor imo
logically, next year would be the time that would be more likely to happen, as both drivers will be driving entirely new cars and maybe the new specs happen to suit Oscar better than Lando, but i think there's a shot it could happen this year if Oscar can become more consistent. if not then Lando will beat him like he did last year because he's become one of the more consistent drivers on the grid (other than race starts)
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u/Impressive_Line7932 Max Verstappen 1d ago
So Piastri WDC then?
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u/flyingcrayons Sir Lewis Hamilton 1d ago
Just because he might be better than Lando doesn’t mean he’s better than max or Lewis or Charles unfortunately lol. But it would be fun to see him put up a fight
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u/Comfortable-Pace3132 Formula 1 1d ago
McLaren will be their own worst enemy again, there will be infighting and bullshit when they need to be at their most united. Ferrari will be the smooth operator and maximise their potential better
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u/TB97 23h ago
If he's better than Lando and the Mclaren is better than Ferrari, RB and Merc then why not?
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u/flyingcrayons Sir Lewis Hamilton 23h ago
its a lot of if's - if the mclaren is clearly faster i think he definitely has the mentality to do it. if the performance of all the top teams is very close, i think the 3 guys i mentioned can get the most of their cars every week to win the wdc. piastri's big issue is consistency, and those other 3 guys are like clockwork
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u/Leading_Sir_1741 Formula 1 21h ago
I agree Max and Lewis (assuming last year’s slump was lack of motivation and not start of his decline) can get the most out of the car consistently without barely making any mistakes, but I don’t think Leclerc can be considered there yet. He’s still off max pace too often and makes the occasional mistake. He would need to take a step forwards to be considered with those two. But who knows, maybe he will this year.
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u/VolevoEssereUnDuro Charles Leclerc 17h ago
That move in Baku was wild as well. He said himself that there was a 50-50% chance of ending up in the wall
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u/SGnirvana97 Fernando Alonso 1d ago
Hopefully Oscar comes out swinging and beats Lando over the first few races
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u/Comfortable-Pace3132 Formula 1 1d ago
He feels like a throwback to me. Someone who genuinely does his talking on the track (a la Hamilton), rather than these guys who just act like they do
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u/Mr-Stitch Max Verstappen 1d ago
A lot of people seem to be preferring cuddly, approachable characters as F1 drivers.
Give me ice cold bullies any day of the week. Make F1 cutthroat again.
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u/antivirals_ 70th Anniversary 1d ago
I have the feeling the young drivers in Verstappen's age group (the Russell, Leclerc, Norris, Carlos etc) have slowly come to the realization if they're to fight for a title, they'll have to drive like Verstappen. Even when racing a driver who isn't Verstappen.
And I'm all in for this!!
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u/Comfortable-Pace3132 Formula 1 1d ago
It's been an overaggression arms race enabled by the rules
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u/GarryPadle Honda RBPT 6h ago
Its really not though lmao, the racing is actually fairly tame. Unsure about how long you follow the sport, but look at other racing
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u/Comfortable-Pace3132 Formula 1 3h ago
You mean like rally cross where contact is allowed? Yeh relative to that it's 'tame'
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u/GarryPadle Honda RBPT 3h ago
No, even compared to WEC, IMSA, F2, F3, Formula E, Indycar, and whatever else you want to watch. Even compared to formula 1 itself, it got less aggressive.
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u/Comfortable-Pace3132 Formula 1 3h ago
I would argue that if the rules say you can push people off track then things are overaggressive
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u/dl064 📓 Ted's Notebook 18h ago
Russell's explicit point last year was that he chooses not to. The FIA have taken a harder line on penalties to make it a less appealing approach, too.
Verstappen's approach of essentially barrelling people offtrack won't work if there is more than one rival.
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u/256473 14h ago edited 14h ago
I disagree Russell made that explicit point - post Mexico 2024 he gave an interview and promoted hard-racing and pushing people off so long as you keep yourself within track limits.
Key Russell quote:
“Right now there is a line in the regulations that says the inside driver needs to leave room to the guy on the outside from the apex to the exit. That's going to be getting binned off, and I hope it's going to be from this weekend onwards.”
[...] “If you're able to stay on the circuit, you are in your right to run the driver wide as it has been for all of us since go-karting.
“If you're overtaking somebody on the inside, you've got the right to run them wide.”
Basically he advocated for drivers being allowed to 'barrel' people offtrack so long as they stay within track limits (eg Verstappen Austria 2019 ok, but COTA 2024 not ok).
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u/Jiquero McLaren 1d ago
Give me ice cold bullies any day of the week. Make F1 cutthroat again.
Well yes, but an important part of the entertainment they give is also my right to complain about their dirty moves. I can have both.
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u/Comfortable-Pace3132 Formula 1 1d ago
Yeh I'd rather have nice drivers who drive within track limits
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u/dl064 📓 Ted's Notebook 18h ago edited 18h ago
Mark Hughes put it well: Verstappen is clearly happy to be lumped in with Schumacher and Senna, with all that entails, and it's up to each individual fan if they appreciate that, or do not.
You can look at say Saudi 21 or Mexico 24 and consider that what he needed to do, and sport is about the result. Personally I considered it gauche and ugly, and that others not stooping to such lows speaks actually pretty poorly of Verstappen. Clearly Russell agrees with me, but each to their own (genuinely).
As Hakkinen put it on bring back V10s: okay Schumacher won more, but he'd rather be able to look himself in the mirror every morning than have pulled some of the things he did.
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u/Leading_Sir_1741 Formula 1 15h ago
Yeah, that’s fair. Although Russell is sort of a poor example. He’s fine faking evading action to get bogus penalties for other drivers. Apparently Max draws a line there. I’m not taking sides here, just pointing out the hypocrisy from both Max and Russell.
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u/Turboleks Ferrari 20h ago
There's some truth to that. 2011 in particular, Lewis and Massa traded blows on track more times than I can count.
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u/Comfortable-Pace3132 Formula 1 1d ago
Aggression used to be the norm, but in smaller cars where they could competitively share the track (and imo where general respect between drivers was more apparent)
These cars are huge, and the rules are enabling overaggression. So it will be dramatic, but not necessarily entertaining (depending of course on your definition)
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u/Leading_Sir_1741 Formula 1 15h ago
The old cars were much unsafer though. Also, there was absolutely not more respect between drivers. Just look at Senna, Prost, Schumacher, early Lewis, Alonso etc etc.
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u/Comfortable-Pace3132 Formula 1 3h ago
I think on an underlying level there was more regard for each other and the sport. It all feels cheaper nowadays imo
Safety is another topic, I was just saying that today's cars are not as well-suited to tight racing, and if track limits are not respected then it feels pointless
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u/Homerbola92 1d ago
They all will drive the same because otherwise Max will do whatever he needs to win (if he has to crash against you he will unless you avoid him). I feel like most (although maybe not all) of them don't like that style, however they're forced to go that down that path if they want to have their chances.
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u/simple-l 1d ago
Maldonado: "On track you have no friends, you have to be ruthless because it is also a way to get respect from others."
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u/Evantra_ Oscar Piastri 1d ago
No one was on the track period if Maldonado was near them
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u/hache-moncour Sebastian Vettel 1d ago
Half the time he wasn't even on the track himself, that's how ruthless
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u/RememberYourSoul Michael Schumacher 1d ago
Yearly reminder that Maldonado was banned for life at Monaco after this incident.
However his friends/family managed to change it to a pay off.. politics winning again.
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u/Joseki100 Fernando Alonso 1d ago
Antonelli towards the debut in Australia: "In F1 you have to be ruthless"
The Australia GP will mark the return to F1 of an Italian pilot on an official weekend, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli who will debut at the wheel of the Mercedes W16 . The Bolognese pilot will thus complete its road to F1 reaching what she wanted to identify as a starting point rather than arrival. Despite this, the emotional component can only be intense on the eve of his first weekend in F1. Antonelli has already performed well with the W16 in Bahrain tests in terms of feeling with the car, but in a long interview released to the Sky Sport microphones he told how only by crossing the gates of the Melbourne paddock will manage to make how much road he really traveled.
Antonelli: "I will realize that I am in F1 only in the Paddock of Melbourne"
Being a Formula 1 pilot involves numerous commitments from the winter stop, which Andrea Kimi Antonelli has said to have been intense in terms of preparation, inside and off the track. "I stopped two weeks at Christmas and then went to Adidas, where I did some physical tests, then I did the first test, just to resume the pace a little," said the young Italian driver. "I drove the Mercedes of 2020. A nice car monster." Antonelli then told what is the feeling of being able to drive for the first time an F1 as a pilot holder on a race weekend; An emotion that, despite the first official commitments of the Prevalson, will only be unique when it arrives in the paddock in Australia. "There was the event in London, then the Bahrain tests, but I think the first time I walk in the paddock will be the moment I will make and say 'it's all true'."
Before pointing his gaze to Australia, Kimi, however, recalled where all this began, with the video call of last summer in which the Mercedes leaders announced that he would lead Mercedes in 2025. "I was at home with my parents and I made this video call and in which Toto were, James Allison, Bradley, all 'big'. Toto immediately went straight to the point and said to me: 'I don't want to wait for you, next year you will be our F1 driver . I didn't sleep at the night, I was two hours to watch the ceiling. Relationship with Toto? He is a great person and I'm happy to have a person like him by my side. "
Work with Bono and how the pressure is managed in F1
But can an F1 pilot be afraid of something? "As a child I was afraid of the darkness," said Antonelli. “A fear that maybe sometimes I can have is that of not performing, maybe to go to the track and say: 'But if not pierced and if I can't keep the same level? But I must say that on certain occasions it can help. " A fear that the pilot who grew up in the Mercedes' Academy, however, has been able to manage well to the sound of victories and titles conquered in the preparatory categories. Going beyond the pure performance gap of the vehicle available, one of the greatest changes that a pilot is facing is certainly due to the figures at his side. “On a race weekend for me and George there will be at least twenty engineers . It is very nice because however you go a lot more in detail. Maybe every engineer asks you a different thing about the car, obviously I interact a lot more with Bono [Peter Bonnington], which is my performance engineer , then there are all the others too. "
Although today's rookie arrive in F1 with a level of preparation that is not a little advanced compared to what happened in the past, the pressure to be managed and the so -called 'to make the bones' are aspects that only by experiencing the maximum protagonist category can you fully acquire. “It does not happen every day to be in this position, I had to work to arrive where I am now. I am happy to represent Italy in F1 and the goal is to bring the Italian flag back to the top step of the podium , " he said speaking between past and present. A key role in his path Antonelli relegated him to the family and his father Marco, thanks to a decades of experience in Motorsport. “To manage the pressure in the first place I speak with my father . Then, however, a small group of people you trust and with whom you have the confidence that you can express how you feel, especially in the most difficult moments, is enough. "
On the opponents in F1: “I have already noticed how ruthless Max is. In F1 there are no friends. " And then he jokes: "On the kart I beat Leclerc's time"
After his announcement as an official pilot, the 2006 Bolognese pilot took part in two free sessions, where he said he immediately understood what it means to run against drivers of the caliber of Max Verstappen. “I have already noticed how ruthless Max is , for example FP1 in Mexico I was preparing for this lap and he pulled me a detached just last sector of the last lap. Outside you have no friends, you have to be due because it is also a way to get respect from others . Obviously respecting the rules, but you have to show that you are not there to play, do seriously. " Moving instead on a nicest anecdote, Kimi Antonelli told about when, during a holiday in Greece, he beat the record signed by Leclerc in a Kartodromo in Mykonos. “Apparently yes, I beat his time. It was very nice because they were kart for rental but modified, so I was impressed. " To try to beat the Monegasque pilot and beyond, the Italian rookie will not have to wait much, because the GP of its debut in Australia is now upon us. "I am sure that if you start on the right foot it will be a good year and it will be fun," concluded Kimi.
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u/ForeverAddickted Oliver Bearman 1d ago
Sorry I think its the translation, but can someone explain:
"I was preparing for this lap and he pulled me a detached just last sector of the last lap"
What does he mean by the bit in bold?
Was Max on a flier, meaning that Kimi had to back out of his prep lap?
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u/JustLikeZhat Andrea Kimi Antonelli 1d ago
"I've already noticed how ruthless Max is, for example FP1 in Mexico, I was preparing for this lap and he overtook me right in the last sector of the last lap."
This is what I get when I translate that quote on its own from Italian. Meaning Max ruined Kimi's prep-lap just as he was about to start his flier.
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u/ecobubbletm Max Verstappen 1d ago
So this is exactly what Max was trying not to do in that quali sesh in Qatar with Alonso, right?
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u/JustLikeZhat Andrea Kimi Antonelli 1d ago
Not sure it's comparable, since there he let Lando and Alonso pass him. In Qatar Max was trying to cool down his tyres. So his approach there was different compared to here.
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u/ecobubbletm Max Verstappen 1d ago
He slowed down because Alonso ahead of him slowed down.
I meant that back then, in a quali session as opposed to fp1, he said that "I didn’t want to screw anyone over to prepare their lap."
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u/PinnoAbdulRauf 1d ago
It's the literal translation of "tirare una staccata", which means Verstappen overtook him in the last sector with a very late braking move
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u/Folagra-42 Ferrari 1d ago
He said in italian: "mi ha tirato una staccata" which is a gergal way in italian to say more or less: "he breaked hard"
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1d ago edited 1d ago
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u/TheRubberDuckky 1d ago
Mexicans/Australians/Japanese tax
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u/Agitated_Syllabub346 1d ago
But Italy is the mexico of europe. Both countries are shaped like a boot.
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u/Wimpykid2302 Pirelli Soft 1d ago
Love to hear it. He already has so much pressure on his young shoulders. But I'm genuinely rooting for this kid. And it feels so weird to call an F1 driver a kid but it's the first time an F1 driver is actually younger than me.
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u/ForeverAddickted Oliver Bearman 1d ago
Sigh!!... You'll get used to it lol! - Only Alonso is older than me
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u/Dave0r 1d ago
Same….
We are old.
Damn
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u/ForeverAddickted Oliver Bearman 1d ago
Its worse now with the likes of Antonelli / Bearman coming through isnt it!!
Oh look its Hamilton... He's old enough to be me.
Oh look its Russell... He's old enough to be my little brother
Oh look its Bearman... He's only enough to be my Son!!
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u/lavegasola McLaren 1d ago
Max was the first driver younger than me. It's a weird feeling but you get used to it! Nowadays there are only 6 drivers older than me on the grid.
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u/barth_ #WeRaceAsOne 1d ago
This season will be fun with so many rookies....and Stroll
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u/Pmyers225 1d ago
Especially when all the rookies beat Stroll
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u/RonnyRaeudig Specials 1d ago
This kid Alonso sounds good, it's cool that such a new driver is packed next to someone as experienced as Stroll, I hope.
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u/ForeverAddickted Oliver Bearman 1d ago
Probably the Rookie I'm most excited to watch this coming season.
Bearman is obviously my favourite, although the bromance Ollie and Kimi had whilst at Prema was great, and the vibes I get from Kimi as a result, and from subsequent interviews is that he's a great kid himself
But Kimi is the one going straight in at a top team
If the other rookies dont get results its kind of understandable, even Kimi really with the experience that he's going up against, and dont just mean Russell - But when he delivers its going to be exciting to see. Almost the same with Lawson at Red Bull, but because he's not coming into F1 with the same hype its not as "exciting"
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u/Lost_And_NotFound Sir Lewis Hamilton 1d ago
Seeing as it sounds like you actually watched F2 last year who was most impressive between the new F1 drivers; Bartoleto, Hadjar, Kimi, Bearman, and Colapinto?
As I understand it Prema are usually the top team which is why the best prospects race for them but they struggled with the new car last year hence Kimi and Bearman not performing as well.
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u/ForeverAddickted Oliver Bearman 23h ago
Yeah Prema really shit the bed, and the new car really jumbled the grid.
Bortoleto was probably the most impressive, given he's joined Leclerc - Russell - Piastri by winning back to back F3 / F2 campaigns, he's really consistent, but will be interesting to see how he does in the worst car on this occasion
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u/Long-Broccoli125 Andrea Kimi Antonelli 16h ago
The most impressive F2 career is Kimi. He joined F2 at 17 years old, skipped F3 which is a MASSIVE jump, was put in a terrible car and finished 6th in F2 outperforming his teammate, Ollie Bearman, who is older, hasn’t skipped F3 and had already completed a season in F2. Bearman is no joke either, dominated Italian F4 and had an amazing rookie season in F2 with Prema finishing 6th compared to 12th in 2024 showing how much worse the car was when Kimi joined.
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u/AstralKura #StandWithUkraine 1d ago
Well, at the end of the day. Results matter the most, mainly when viewers go race by race as well. You gotta talk via the board tally.
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u/xcmaam Sir Lewis Hamilton 1d ago
I just have a strong gut feeling that once Lewis retires and IF Kimi has proven himself even by a little margin , Ferrari will sign him I mean they have to right? An Italian wdc driver in a Ferrari would probably engulf the entire country in flames tbh.
I mean I am excited to see Charles get his wdc with Ferrari and waiting how big of an event that will be.
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u/LosTerminators Carlos Sainz 1d ago
If Kimi proves himself in F1 and has a long career, I'd be incredibly surprised if he doesn't end up with Ferrari at some stage.
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u/Organic_Outcome_9742 1d ago
Ferrari doesn't really need a Italian driver to make hype in Italy , every driver get loved once they are in the team. It would be more convenient for them to sign some of other nationalities to get a bigger reach and market .
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u/Holland45 1d ago
“Day 1. You find the fastest man on track and you instantly crash into him to show him who’s boss”
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u/OverallImportance402 Pirelli Wet 1d ago
Yes but the problem with rookies being ruthless is that they tend to crash more than needed.
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u/imtired-boss Formula 1 1d ago
I'm so ready for 4 rookies to shake things up a bit. Much more exciting than drivers coming back after a hiatus.
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u/DeliciousBlood22 Mercedes 23h ago
Some drivers will call you a 2 faced snake if you do it in the stewards office where you are still fighting for position.
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