Max Verstappen Doesn’t Mince Words About Kimi Antonelli

Formula 1 is stopping in Baku, Azerbaijan, where the race will take place on Saturday: the favorite is once again Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the World Championship leader with an 81-point lead over George Russell and 8 wins out of 14 races this season.

Once again, Max Verstappen—who has long been one of the drivers closest to the Bolognese driver and holds him in high regard—applauded him at the press conference: “I don’t think there’s any secret to it; Kimi is simply an excellent driver. And when you’re an excellent driver, you eventually find yourself battling at the front—provided your car is up to the task,” declared the four-time world champion.

According to Verstappen, there isn’t really a dominant car at the moment: “McLaren has been very strong in recent races, though they haven’t always managed to maximize their results—whether due to their own mistakes or bad luck, as in the last race. But I still see some real battles. Of course, Ferrari is also very strong on certain circuits. Mercedes remains the team to beat, and Kimi has always given it his all, maximizing his results in the race.”

Meanwhile, Verstappen himself has put the brakes on talk of winning the title: “It’s like in tennis: one point at a time; here, it’s one race at a time. We have to keep giving it our all and try to raise the bar, keep getting results, and then we’ll see where we end up at the end of the year.”