Andrea Kimi Antonelli is off to a successful start in his second season in Formula 1. The Mercedes driver is now even the leader in the world championship, after two consecutive Grand Prix victories in China and Japan. According to Kimi Antonelli, his experience in the premier class also brings a number of changes. For instance, world champions Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen no longer provide the young driver with advice.
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In his second season in Formula 1, Andrea Kimi Antonelli is officially the youngest championship leader ever. The young Italian won the last two Grands Prix in a row, dethroning his teammate George Russell. This is a contrast to last year, when Kimi Antonelli was still completing his first kilometers in Formula 1 and could count on advice from world champions Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, among others.
“Last year they were very open and helped me,” the Mercedes driver reveals to BILD. “But now they have stopped doing that.”
The Italian still shares exactly what he learned from the seven-time world champion. “That I must always stay true to myself and that I must enjoy being fast. The pressure in this environment is so great that you can quickly forget both things.”
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Father Marco
Someone who is still a pillar of support for Kimi Antonelli is his father, Marco Antonelli. “He is, just like my whole family, very important to me,” the youngest championship leader continues. “To them, I am still Kimi and not the Formula 1 driver. But of course, we also talk about racing. If I make a mistake, I hear about it too,” he says with a laugh. “He taught me that – whether I achieved a good or bad result – I must always strive for more. That I must analyze where I left performance on the track. But also that I must analyze where I was good and why.”
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