Andrea Stella has admitted he is highly impressed by Kimi Antonelli’s remarkable start to the 2026 Formula 1 season. However, the McLaren team principal still believes his squad possesses the strongest driver pairing on the current F1 grid in the fight for the constructors’ championship.
Antonelli has emerged as one of the biggest surprises of the season after building a 20-point championship lead over Mercedes team-mate George Russell. The 19-year-old Italian has secured three victories from the opening four rounds, including a historic hat-trick of wins at the Miami Grand Prix.
Stella admitted that before the season began he expected Russell to hold the upper hand within Mercedes. However, Antonelli’s rapid development over the opening races has significantly changed the situation inside the championship battle.
“We really have to give credit to the quality of the driving, the consistency, the speed over a single lap and in race conditions, plus the overall execution Kimi is showing. He is truly delivering on track,” Stella said.
According to Stella, Antonelli’s success is not only the result of individual talent but also the strong relationship developing between the young driver and the technical group surrounding him. Stella believes that synergy has become one of the key reasons behind Mercedes’ strong performance at the beginning of Formula 1’s new regulation era.
Despite praising Antonelli and Mercedes, Stella maintained full confidence in McLaren’s own line-up featuring Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. McLaren has recently shown improved competitiveness after introducing a major upgrade package that helped the team emerge as Mercedes’ closest rival in Miami.
Piastri continued his consistent run of podium finishes, while Norris claimed victory in the sprint race and challenged for the grand prix win. Stella believes the combination of Norris and Piastri remains one of McLaren’s biggest strengths in the constructors’ championship fight.
“When we look specifically at the constructors’ championship, I think from a driver perspective we probably have the strongest pairing in Formula 1 right now. We want to maximise that strength, but we still need to make the car a little bit faster,” Stella added.
McLaren currently sits third in the constructors’ standings with 94 points, trailing Mercedes by 86. With the team’s recent development progress beginning to show clear results, the technical battle between McLaren and Mercedes is expected to become one of the defining stories of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Baca Juga
Andrea Stella memuji performa Kimi Antonelli di Formula 1 2026 namun tetap yakin McLaren memiliki pasangan pembalap terbaik di grid.
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