Max Verstappen has some clear advice for youngster Kimi Antonelli, who currently leads the drivers’ standings. The Dutchman believes the Mercedes driver simply needs to be himself.
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Antonelli has had a stunning start to the 2026 Formula 1 season. After winning five Grands Prix in a row, including the famous Monaco GP, the Italian was on course to finish second behind Lewis Hamilton at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, but his Mercedes car had a mechanical failure that prevented him from finishing the race. As a result, he currently leads the seven-time world champion by 41 points, and his teammate George Russell by 50 points in the drivers' standings.
Verstappen, who has won four world titles so far, has some clear advice for the Italian. Speaking to GPblog, among others, he could only praise Antonelli. "In general, at that age, you know, to be doing what he is doing and trying to find that consistency as well, I think is very impressive. Also what he did in Monaco, at that age, it's quite tough, especially in qualifying when the pressure is on to deliver these kind of laps.
"So I'm just happy for him that he's doing these things. He's, of course, a great talent. I knew that. I could see that coming. Of course, in a rookie season, you have to make mistakes, but then, of course, it's about how you learn from them, and I think he's doing that very well."
'Antonelli needs to be his own star'
The Red Bull Racing driver continued: "So it's, yeah, it's just very nice and impressive to see what he is doing currently and also what is there still to come. It's important also just to be yourself and not look at others or try to be like someone else. Just be yourself. He knows that and he just needs to do everything his own way. Because that's also how you grow up, you do things your own way. And I think it's also very important just to be your own star."
"Just be yourself. He knows that and he just needs to do everything his own way."
Red Bull confirms updates for the Austrian Grand Prix
After the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, where Verstappen finished fourth but was never in contention for a podium finish, Red Bull Racing CEO and team principal Laurent Mekies explained that he expected a reality check. He said: "I think we were expecting a reality check in Barcelona. First track with a long straight, the medium-speed, high-speed corners, it's probably the first time after China and Japan where we come back to this sort of track. So we are expecting certainly a different performance compared to Monaco, where we could certainly fight for pole position.
"I think this weekend confirmed progress because what we are talking about is three or four tenths from pole position, or three or four tenths from what you need to do to fight for the win. And that was certainly a very different picture at the beginning of the year on this sort of track. There is still a gap, no doubt, PU side, chassis side. That's what we need to fight for next.
"In Austria, hopefully we'll get lighter there. The plan is to get the car to eat a little bit less there, and to get on a bit of a diet," the Frenchman concluded with a smile.