Antonelli’s pace leap leaves former Mercedes driver impressed amid title charge

Antonelli has so far kicked off the current campaign with a streak of six podium finishes, including five consecutive victories through the first seven races. The young Italian, who endured a topsy-turvy debut year in Formula 1, currently leads the Drivers’ Championship standings with a 51-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton.

However, amid the exploits of the Mercedes driver, Bottas has admitted to being particularly impressed by the start to the campaign Antonelli has had, while spotlighting his outing around the tight, twisty circuit of Monaco, where Antonelli was largely flawless.

“It’s been really impressive what he’s done so far this year. He’s got obviously great momentum, great confidence at the moment, but yeah, unique tracks like Monaco, you know, he was really quick and no mistakes at all. So yeah, it’s good to see. I mean, yeah, he clearly made like a big step over the winter. I think he just gained that confidence in the car and out of the car that he was lacking sometimes last year, which is natural. Yeah, very impressed, even a bit surprised,” Bottas explained to GPblog.

Asked about the experience of working alongside Antonelli and if he had seen glimpses of the brilliance he is currently showing, the Cadillac driver admitted that while he expected improvement in the youngster’s second season, the scale of his progress has exceeded expectations.

“I was expecting him to make a decent step for year two. That’s quite often what happens. But I think he surprised everyone, including the team. I think, you know, he’s, like I said, performing on a really high level, avoiding mistakes and being quick. So yeah, I hope it carries on. You know, it’s still a long way to go,” he added.

Asked further about how quickly Antonelli adapted during their time together, Bottas highlighted the 19-year-old’s impressive maturity, especially given his age. The Finnish driver added that it is easy to imagine the scale of the career Antonelli could build as he continues to develop.

Amid his impressive start to the campaign, Antonelli saw his outing at the Barcelona Grand Prix come to an abrupt end during the final stages of the race. The Mercedes driver suffered a technical issue later identified as an electrical shutdown, which caused him to lose ground to both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in the Drivers’ Championship battle.