Lando Norris has openly praised Kimi Antonelli ahead of the Italian's potential Formula 1 world championship coronation in the 2026 season. The outgoing champion believes the youngster's performance has been operating on an entirely different tier compared to the rest of the grid.
Antonelli is on the brink of motorsport history, standing ready to shatter Sebastian Vettel's long-standing record as the youngest world champion in F1 history. Holding a massive 123-point lead over George Russell with only 125 points remaining on the table, the title is all but secured heading into the Mexico City weekend.
Throughout the 2026 campaign, Antonelli has claimed nine Grand Prix victories compared to Russell's three. While the Briton has openly struggled to extract performance from the W17 machine, Antonelli has adapted seamlessly, highlighted by a stellar streak of five consecutive wins spanning from China to Monaco.
Despite holding a high regard for Russell's driving abilities, Norris emphasized that Antonelli's execution, minimal unforced errors, and sheer speed have completely overshadowed his teammate across the entire championship trail.
"I think it's very impressive what he's been able to do at his age, in his second year in Formula 1, and he's going to be the youngest world champion ever," Norris told media, including RacingNews365, discussing Antonelli's impending coronation.
"It's pretty incredible, especially because last year... I wouldn't say he had a bad first season in Formula 1; he was against George, who I think is very good and has performed very well, especially in the last year against Lewis. He's taken quite a huge step, I would say, from last year to this year in terms of optimising things and understanding how to drive this year's car more than other people as well," he added.
"Dealing with chestnut pressure, the lack of mistakes that have come from him in both qualifying races, the consistency to beat his team-mate, the way he has is pretty strong. As I said, I rate George, and I think he's a very good driver. But Kimi has been two levels above George the whole season, so he's done a pretty incredible job, and I'm sure the world knows that. I don't need to say it. I think it's obvious enough.">
Baca Juga
Lando Norris puji Kimi Antonelli yang siap kunci gelar F1 2026 di Meksiko. Baca analisis lengkap, update poin, dan jadwal akhir pekan ini.
Simak pujian tinggi Luca Cordero di Montezemolo untuk Kimi Antonelli yang selangkah lagi rengkuh gelar juara dunia F1 2026. Baca analisis lengkapnya di sini!
Simak analisis lengkap penolakan team order oleh Pecco Bagnaia jelang GP Sepang. Baca berita eksklusif dan update MotoGP terbaru di sini.
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