Daily News 19

Tag: F1 championship

  • From FP1 Debut Crash to Charging Home Victory: How Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli ‘Closed the Circle’ at Monza

    From FP1 Debut Crash to Charging Home Victory: How Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli ‘Closed the Circle’ at Monza

    Antonelli’s Meteoric Rise: From Rookie Struggles to Championship Leader

    Kimi Antonelli’s 2025 Formula 1 campaign has transformed from a cautious apprenticeship into a dominant title charge. The Mercedes driver arrived at the Barcelona shakedown in January appearing calm and confident in machinery built to all-new regulations, but his subsequent trajectory has exceeded even the most optimistic projections.

    Early Resilience Sets the Tone

    After backing up teammate George Russell at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix—where he recovered from an FP3 crash that threatened to derail his weekend—Antonelli rattled off four pole positions and five victories across the next five rounds. The pressure appeared to lift entirely, erasing earlier doubts and revealing the maturity team principal Toto Wolff had predicted since Antonelli’s karting days.

    “It kind of shows the decision we’ve taken last year, [that] giving him a year to learn while he was still 18 is going to monetise in the future,” Wolff told F1.com after Antonelli’s maiden Grand Prix pole in China. “You can see how he’s grown and how mature he is now.

    “One of the things we are most impressed by is that, compared to last year, Kimi is acting with so much maturity and cold-bloodedness to issues. He’s able to compartmentalise the debriefing, talk about what’s ahead and not what’s behind with a lot of confidence, but no over-confidence.

    “For a racing driver, beyond the skill of driving the car fast, that mental resilience is key, and that’s what Kimi is showing at the moment.”

    Since that Chinese breakthrough, Antonelli has added further podiums, only missing the rostrum in Barcelona and at Silverstone due to reliability issues. Those results have built a sizeable championship lead over Russell heading into the Italian Grand Prix.

    Monza Masterclass Extends Championship Advantage

    Last weekend at Monza presented a golden opportunity for Russell—starting from the front row—to claw back points after his own share of misfortune this season. Instead, Antonelli produced a drive for the ages, converting a 19th-place grid slot (following an engine-related penalty) into victory.

    He climbed to 12th after two laps, entered the points-paying positions shortly after the restart, hunted down Russell by one-third distance, and launched an initial lead bid on Lap 18. When the Mercedes drivers split strategies amid a mid-race Virtual Safety Car period, Wolff was unequivocal: “nothing would have stopped him.”

    “I thought one of the two is going to win,” added the Austrian team boss. “Either George, because he was on [the front row], or Kimi, because he’s going to walk over water here in Monza, and I felt that yesterday also.”

    Historical Significance for Italian Motorsport

    Antonelli’s Monza triumph marks the first victory for an Italian driver at the Temple of Speed since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. The result moves him one step closer to becoming the first Italian to claim the F1 Drivers’ Championship since Alberto Ascari’s back-to-back titles in 1952-53.

    From crashing Russell’s car during a whirlwind Friday test session a couple of years ago to now leading the intra-team battle at Mercedes, Antonelli’s ascent has been nothing short of remarkable.

  • Lando Norris Insists He Has Not Changed Since Winning the F1 Championship

    Lando Norris Insists He Has Not Changed Since Winning the F1 Championship

    Lando Norris says winning the Formula 1 world championship has not changed his personality, although achieving his childhood dream has given him greater calm and confidence away from the pressures of the title fight.

    The McLaren driver discussed his championship success in an interview with Sky Sports, filmed after he announced a contract extension with the Woking-based team through the end of 2030.

    “It hasn’t, which is exactly what I would want,” Norris explained when asked how he thinks winning the championship has changed him. “I don’t want it to change me. I don’t want it to change who I am. I think I just get to go around with a feeling that I’ve accomplished something very few people in the world get to achieve, and I know I’ve achieved my dream as a kid.

    “That’s something, again, not many people get to achieve. So I know how lucky I am. I know how fortunate I’ve been to be with McLaren.”

    Norris remains focused on the Formula 1 title fight

    For the 26-year-old, the biggest change has been in his perspective away from the cockpit rather than in his approach on the track.

    “There’s an element of I know that people have high expectations, and I have high expectations for myself, and that’s where everything starts,” he said about the pressure of the current championship campaign.

    Lando Norris, McLaren
    Lando Norris, McLaren. Photo by: Pirelli

    “But there’s also the element of we had such a tough start to the year. We’ve been very, very unfortunate with a lot of things. We knew we would start on the back foot. [Fighting for the championship] certainly wasn’t the first thought we had. The fact that it’s become a thought is a pretty awesome thing.

    “So I’m very relaxed that I’m in the position of being the chaser, of course. But every time I’m on track, I don’t necessarily feel different because of it. Every time I put my helmet on, I still want to win today. I want to be first today. I want to be on pole. And that’s the same mentality that I’ve always had.

    “It changes my outlook, especially when I’m out of the car. But I wouldn’t say it changes anything when I’m in it, because when I’m in it, it’s always 100%. It’s always go flat out. It’s always, don’t embarrass yourself. I want to be number one, no matter what situation I’m in. 

    “So, yeah, certainly just being off track, being more relaxed, being able to work with the team in an even better way than ever, that’s what’s also helping.”