Kimi Antonelli: The Alliance That Could Change F1 Is Officially Announced in Austria
The Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix didn’t just shake up the top of the World Championship standings, following George Russell’s return to victory, Max Verstappen’s resurgence as he finished second, a solid Kimi Antonelli securing a podium spot, and Ferrari’s poor showing. Everything that happened during the various post-race ceremonies underscored a balance in the dynamic between the star driver from Bologna and his colleagues—a dynamic that did not go unnoticed by those present at the Spielberg circuit.
From the very first post-race comments, through the “cool-down” phase, the podium celebrations, and the interviews conducted at the end of the day, it was evident that Antonelli and Verstappen wanted to chat among themselves, effectively leaving the winner, Russell, isolated. The dynamic was so obvious that David Coulthard, a veteran F1 insider who had been assigned the task of interviewing the three podium finishers, pointed it out twice on live television. “Wait, George, don’t go yet—we need to talk some more later,” the Scot told the winner, who was walking away after answering the first few questions. “They left you alone. Maybe they weren’t interested in what you had to say,” he insisted when, during the final question to the Mercedes driver, his two colleagues had already left the podium.
Even when Antonelli and Verstappen were alone in the small room behind the podium, watching the race highlights on the screen, the cameras captured them chatting amiably. Kimi dropped that friendly demeanor as soon as Russell joined them. This shouldn’t come as a surprise: the Englishman’s relationship with his Dutch Red Bull teammate has been delicate, to say the least, for years, but it’s striking to see the stark coldness between the two Mercedes drivers. The obvious explanation is that they are teammates, but rivals for the title. Who knows, though—perhaps Ferrari, by returning to performance levels more akin to Barcelona than to Spielberg, might be able to capitalize on this later on in the classic role of the “third wheel.”
After all, Antonelli’s day still represented a positive result in terms of the championship: with Russell winning and closing the gap to 40 points, the driver from Bologna limited the damage by finishing third after dropping as low as fifth at the start from fourth on the grid. It was a comeback driven at a steady pace, confirming the Mercedes driver’s strong rapport with the Austrian track—a connection that had already emerged during Friday’s free practice sessions, when Antonelli dominated the second session with a time of 1’07″014, impressing not only on the flying lap but also in race simulations.
On the Ferrari front, the comments from key figures after the Grand Prix captured the full extent of Maranello’s disappointment. Antonelli’s own comment was particularly telling, as he made no secret of his surprise at the Reds’ collapse: “They were really slow, and their tire deployment was really strange. I almost collided with Leclerc at Turn 1 because of the speed difference. I was going about 30 km/h faster.” Charles Leclerc was even more direct, cutting to the chase over the radio: “Terrible car, these tires are f***ed…” Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, tried to look ahead: “It was a tough race, but let’s take these points; we’ll come back stronger next time.”
Team principal Vasseur attempted to explain the dramatic step backward compared to the victory in Barcelona the previous week, pointing to a power deficit as the root cause of the problem: “We’ve had a power deficit since the start of the season; we knew that. Even with Aduo, we couldn’t expect a magic wand to solve everything overnight. Today, in the first stint, we wore out the tires trying to keep up with the Mercedes; maybe we should have focused on the McLarens.” The French manager then broadened the perspective: “We knew this track would be difficult for us; Barcelona suited us better. Every weekend is a different story. Next week we have to bounce back.” Words that sound like a plan, but they don’t dispel the feeling that the gap between Ferrari and the top cars, on certain circuits, remains very significant.
