Kimi Antonelli has reacted to his stunning fightback victory at the Italian Grand Prix by claiming that his best is "yet to come" in Formula 1.
Starting from 19th on the grid, Kimi Antonelli produced the second-furthest-back comeback win in F1 history, with John Watson still holding the record after winning from 22nd at the 1983 United States Grand Prix West.
Despite climbing to second within 16 laps and then executing a second recovery after pitting under the Virtual Safety Car, Antonelli sent an ominous warning to his rivals.
"I mean, the best one has yet to come," he said. "But I feel like, yeah, it was one of the best races I've done so far and, yeah, one that I will remember forever."
Facing the likely scenario that his 59-point championship lead would be cut, Antonelli now heads to Madrid with a 66-point margin over teammate George Russell, while Lewis Hamilton trails by 76 points after a tough weekend for Ferrari.
While many would suggest the 20-year-old has one hand on the title, Antonelli himself is steering clear of such thoughts.
"I don't want to really look at it because we've seen this season how things can change very quickly," he said. "On my side, I just need to take one race at a time, maximise every result, every opportunity I get, and we'll see what happens at the end of the year."
That mentality shone through in the race, as Antonelli risked it all to pass Russell in the closing laps. His first attempt ended with a trip through the gravel, which team boss Toto Wolff said risked making them look "like idiots".
"I didn't really think about anything else other than trying to win," Antonelli added. "I was pushing hard, had a little excursion off track, which was not ideal. But we made smart overtakes, used the battery wisely, and it worked out. Of course, being the best team this weekend also helped."
Read Also
Toto Wolff criticizes Kimi Antonelli's Monza mistake that could have made Mercedes look foolish, but views it as a learning step for the future.
Toto Wolff admitted the duel between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell at the Italian GP nearly ended in disaster. Read the full analysis on Sportrik.
Charles Leclerc blames media for pushing a Ferrari rivalry narrative after his clash with Lewis Hamilton at the Italian GP. Hamilton responds sharply.
Continue with Google
Discussion (0)
Join the Discussion!
Sign in easily to start commenting, replying, and interacting with other readers.
Latest Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!