The Dutchman jokes about ruling out a comeback of his own and advises the Italian not to obsess over the standings, Norris goes further and assures that the young Mercedes driver will be a formidable rival for many years due to his maturity behind the wheel.
Kimi Antonelli has won over his rivals, the young Italian Mercedes driver who leads the championship with an 81-point advantage over his teammate George Russell, has received unexpected praise from two of the most experienced drivers on the grid: Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. Both agree that the Italian is doing an exceptional job and that his dominance is not the result of chance but of a combination of talent, maturity and consistency unbecoming of a driver of barely 20 years old.
The scene took place during a press conference in which Verstappen and Norris were asked what advice they would give Antonelli for the decisive weeks of the season. The Mercedes driver himself, present in the room, joked: "Well I think they'll be expecting a comeback! I'm definitely not going to come back!" Verstappen declared with irony. The Dutchman, who last year managed to come back from a considerable deficit to fight for the title, knows that this time the story is completely different. Without a victory so far this season, Verstappen settles for aiming for podiums, aware that the RB22 is not at the level of Antonelli's Mercedes.
But beyond the joke the four-time world champion offered sincere advice to the championship leader: "Kimi just needs to do what he's doing, it's fantastic it's working really well. He shouldn't stress too much about it and I don't think he is, he's just delivering, he has confidence and he's gaining more and more experience, he's still young and still very much at the beginning of his career, but he's already flying" Verstappen declared.
The Dutchman highlighted the importance of staying calm and not overcomplicating things: "He shouldn't overcomplicate things too much and he isn't doing that. He has a lot of good people around him who know what he needs, so everything is working well" he added.
Norris was even more effusive in his praise. The McLaren driver, who has been one of Antonelli's most consistent rivals this season, considers that the Italian doesn't need any advice: "He leads by 80 points because he's doing an incredible job, he's beating a much more experienced teammate and a decent teammate, so I don't want to give him any advice because he's doing a job that's scary how good it is and he just turned 20, quite phenomenal" Norris stated.
The Briton stressed Antonelli's maturity behind the wheel, unbecoming of a driver in his second year in Formula 1: "He's not driving like it's his second year in F1, that's for sure. He's been impressive since the first race of this year, with very few mistakes" he noted. Norris also looked to the future and anticipated a rivalry that promises to extend for years: "There are going to be many, many more years of us fighting and I'm excited that there are more. Hopefully this year too and I'm also excited for all of us to race more in the future. I'm looking forward to it" he concluded.
Antonelli for his part remains cautious. Although his advantage is considerable and his performance impeccable, the Italian prefers not to think about the title and focus on each race. That mentality, precisely, is the one his rivals highlight and the one that could lead him to become the youngest champion in the history of Formula 1, the season still has many races ahead but the message from Verstappen and Norris is clear: Antonelli is not a passing surprise, but a reality that has arrived to stay.
