What Kimi Antonelli has gleaned from Max Verstappen

As he prepares for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Antonelli mentioned that he continues to learn by observing the racecraft of the four-time world champion.

"Max has an incredible perspective on the race, especially in terms of car positioning," Antonelli shared.

"For instance, in Madrid, during the second chicane, when I attempted to go around the outside of Lando and then backed off, my error was in letting him pass immediately because I realized Max would be going outside in the next corner."

"Naturally, he [Verstappen] must have recognized the chance and seized it. It's always fascinating how quickly he can assess the situation and find an opening to gain a position."

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Lando Norris, McLaren

At Turn 1 in Madrid, both Antonelli and Verstappen navigated the chicane incorrectly—Antonelli due to a loss of momentum after the first apex, while polesitter Lando Norris had already claimed the racing line to the second apex. Verstappen felt he was pushed out by Lewis Hamilton before the second apex, leaving him no choice but to go off-track.

Antonelli managed to re-enter the track ahead of Norris, while Verstappen returned in front of Hamilton. This prompted the Red Bull pitwall to instruct Verstappen to yield the position back to Hamilton later in the lap, whereas Antonelli quickly allowed Norris to pass to regain the lead.

At the second chicane, Antonelli again ran off while making an aggressive move and rejoined in the lead. Once more, he immediately yielded to Norris, allowing Verstappen to box him in as they approached the right-hander at Turn 7, temporarily dropping the Mercedes to third place.

Although Verstappen later allowed Antonelli to pass while giving Hamilton the chance to reclaim his spot, this was largely irrelevant concerning the final race result since the Mercedes was the quicker car overall. The takeaway for Antonelli was that had he maintained the lead, even if for just a lap before conceding it to Norris, they could have created a gap to the pursuing cars and executed the swap without any risk.

"I think also witnessing him so close on track shows how he can turn situations around, even when they seem unfavorable," Antonelli added.

"I recall Monaco this year during FP3, where they [Red Bull] appeared quite far behind, yet in qualifying, he nearly secured pole position. With Max, what's also intriguing is the unpredictability at times, especially in free practice—you can't fully gauge his potential because when it counts, he always seems to find something extra, and it's truly captivating to observe."