Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s remarkable 2026 Formula 1 campaign has earned praise from two of the sport’s most experienced current drivers, with Max Verstappen and Lando Norris both impressed by the way the young Mercedes driver has handled his championship challenge.

Following Antonelli’s victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, the Italian has established a huge advantage in the Drivers’ Championship over his Mercedes teammate George Russell. With the season entering its final stages, Verstappen and Norris were asked whether they had any advice for Antonelli on how to manage the emotions and pressure that come with leading the championship at such a young age.

Verstappen, however, dismissed the idea that he was expecting to mount a comeback himself, before praising Antonelli for his performances throughout the season.

The four-time World Champion then explained that he believes Antonelli does not need to change anything about his approach.

“I’m definitely not having a comeback. But no, I mean, Kimi just needs to do what he’s doing. I mean, it’s fantastic. So it’s working really well,” he said.

Verstappen believes the most important thing for Antonelli is to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on himself as he approaches the conclusion of his first championship campaign.

“He should not stress about it too much, which I don’t think he is. He’s just delivering, he’s confident, he’s getting more and more experience.”

Despite Antonelli’s age and relative lack of experience in Formula 1, Verstappen has been impressed by the level of performance he has produced.

“He’s still young, he’s still very early in his career, but he’s flying and it’s just working. So he shouldn’t overcomplicate things. He’s not doing that.”

The Red Bull driver also highlighted the support system surrounding the Mercedes youngster, which he believes is helping Antonelli deal with the pressure of fighting for the title.

“He has a lot of good people around him that know what he needs. So, it’s all working well.”

Norris echoed Verstappen’s assessment, pointing out that Antonelli’s championship advantage is the result of consistently strong performances rather than simply Mercedes having a dominant car. The McLaren driver also highlighted Antonelli’s performances against his more experienced teammate Russell.

“Max said it well. Like, he’s leading by 80 points because he’s doing an incredible job. You know, he’s beating a much more experienced team-mate, and a decent team-mate, so I don’t want to give him any advice because he’s doing a scarily good job at, you know, just turned 20.”

Norris admitted that Antonelli’s performances have been particularly remarkable given his age.

“So yeah, pretty phenomenal. I think it’s cool to see someone so young doing such an incredible job and more than likely go on and win the championship, you know.”

According to Norris, Antonelli has been impressive from the very beginning of the season and has avoided the kind of mistakes that might normally be expected from a driver with relatively little Formula 1 experience. The McLaren driver was also struck by how naturally Antonelli has adapted to the pressure of competing at the front of the field.

“He’s been impressive since the first race this year. Very few mistakes. He’s, you know, he’s just not driving like it’s his second year in F1, that’s for sure.”

Norris believes Antonelli’s emergence could also set up a long-term battle between the young Mercedes driver and the established generation of Formula 1 stars.

“So yeah, it’s cool to see and, yeah, I don’t want to… There’s going to be many, many more years of us battling and, yeah, I’m excited for more, hopefully this year, and I’m excited for all of us to race more in the future too. Looking forward to it.”