The four time world champion highlighted the consistency of the 19 year old Italian. "He's been very solid, impressive to watch from the outside" he declared.
Max Verstappen has praised Kimi Antonelli's performance in the first half of the 2026 season. The Red Bull driver described the championship leader as "very solid" and highlighted his ability to maintain consistency in a complicated year for many drivers. The Dutchman, who is sixth in the drivers' standings with a 110 point deficit to the Italian, acknowledged that the young Mercedes driver has been the standout driver of the season so far.
"I think if you look at the front, Kimi has done a really good job. Very strong, very solid, being the strongest in the team, if he continues like that of course, he's also had very bad luck sometimes so it's been a shame but as a 19 year old kid, so far I think he's been very solid. It's really impressive to watch from the outside" declared Verstappen in statements collected by Formula 1.
Antonelli, who achieved his first victory at the Chinese Grand Prix, strung together a streak of five consecutive wins and became the youngest driver to lead the drivers' championship. Despite some difficult moments, like the retirement in Barcelona due to a mechanical problem and another reliability issue at Silverstone, the Italian maintains a 50 point lead over Lewis Hamilton, who is his closest pursuer.
Verstappen, for his part, has had a more complicated season. With the RB22 not delivering the expected performance, the Dutchman has scored three podiums and a second place in Hungary, but has not achieved any wins so far this year: "For me it's definitely been a bit of a jungle this year, but I try to enjoy it where I can, of course, when the car is a bit nicer to drive, you can enjoy it a bit more" he stated.
The four time world champion also referred to Antonelli's personality: "It's nice to see him, he's above all a nice guy and a very strong driver, so that's a good combination" added Verstappen.
Red Bull has been far from Antonelli and Mercedes' pace in several races, and Verstappen was clear about the team's goals for the second half of the season: "First we need to find more overall performance, then we need to solve our problems where we sometimes lose performance during a weekend or even from the beginning of the race to the end, so yes, that's also a big priority" he explained.
The drivers' championship is dominated by Antonelli with a 50 point lead over Hamilton and 59 over George Russell. Mercedes leads the constructors' championship with a 72 point lead over Ferrari. Red Bull is fourth, 205 points behind the Germans.
Verstappen trusts that the team can take a step forward in the second half of the season and reduce the gap to the leaders: "We have to work hard to improve the car and be more competitive in the upcoming races" he concluded.
The Dutchman's statements are a recognition of Antonelli's work and a display of the sportsmanship that reigns in Formula 1, even in a year where Verstappen is not in the title fight.
