Ecclestone backs Antonelli to 'turn into another Max Verstappen' within three years

Antonelli secured the title with third place at the Mexico City Grand Prix. At 20 years and 68 days old, he beat Sebastian Vettel's record as the youngest world champion by more than three years, and he ended Italy's 73-year wait for a champion. Verstappen won the race and told reporters afterwards that he was very proud of the new champion, as GPblog reported.

Ecclestone, now 95, put Antonelli in the same bracket as the four-time champion. "There are two people I once hoped would win the championship, one is Max, one is him," he told reporters.

In his view, what links the two is a refusal to settle for anything less than victory. "He's got all that Max has got; he wants to win, and he will win no matter what," Ecclestone said. He also believes the title is only the start: "We haven't seen the best of him yet by a long way. I think we'll be surprised at how good he's going to be."

The most striking part of the interview is Ecclestone's comparison of how the two drivers were raised. Jos Verstappen was famously demanding of his son during his karting years, and Ecclestone believes that hardness pushed Max forward. Marco Antonelli, by contrast, has taken a more understanding approach and tries to keep his son calm.

In Ecclestone's view, Antonelli will only complete the transformation once he has been tested by adversity. He is not predicting an easy ride.

The comparison sits awkwardly with how Mercedes have handled their young star all year. After Antonelli's win in Japan in March, Toto Wolff said: "We need to protect him now from people talking about world championships." Since the title, Wolff has also presented Antonelli as a product of the Mercedes system rather than a lone prodigy.

Antonelli himself seems to be ignoring the hype. He has chosen to keep the number 12 on his car rather than switch to number 1, explaining: "It's a way for me to stay grounded, to stay humble."

The timeline also helps Antonelli. Verstappen was 24 years and 73 days old when he won his first title in 2021, so the Italian has reached the same milestone roughly four years earlier. Ecclestone's optimism also marks a sharp turnaround: ahead of the 2025 season, he told Reuters he would be very surprised if the then 18-year-old won a race that year.