Sebastian Vettel doesn’t hold back when it comes to Kimi Antonelli

Sebastian Vettel praised Andrea Kimi Antonelli in an interview with the BBC after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Despite his mistake during qualifying in Baku, the Mercedes driver kept his cool and limited the damage on Sunday by fighting his way back up to fifth place. Another sign of maturity, according to the four-time world champion.

“He’s leading the championship on merit—it’s not as if he’s been that lucky. In Baku, he kept his cool after the mistake and managed to bounce back in a tough race. The gaps were much smaller than expected after free practice.”

Vettel praised Antonelli’s ability to handle pressure: “Watching his performance, the way he handled various situations, and his head-to-head with George Russell was truly fascinating. This year he’s shown a sudden step up; he’s matured a lot over the winter break.”

“Let’s not forget,” continued the former Ferrari driver, “that driving the car is perhaps the easiest part of being a driver. You have to learn to work with the team and interact with many engineers. There was a significant adjustment period.”

Not everyone, however, shared the same positive assessment of the Bologna-born driver’s weekend. Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 world champion, gave Sky Sports F1 a much harsher assessment of the incident in Q1, when Antonelli lost control of his car, hitting the inside wall at Turn 1 and damaging the left front suspension. “It’s not a matter of centimeters; it’s not just a mistake—it’s a gross error,” the Canadian said. “An unbelievable mistake, made on a weekend when his teammate is on another planet.”