René Arnoux doesn’t hold back when it comes to Kimi Antonelli

Former Formula 1 driver René Arnoux, speaking on the sidelines of the Italian Historic Grand Prix at the Mugello Circuit, commented on Andrea Kimi Antonelli and his chances of winning the World Championship: on this point, the French driver has no doubts.

“I think he’ll win the world championship this year. I said that if he won at Monza, he’d win the championship. And that’s exactly what he did. I liked that because, compared to last year, the young man has matured a lot this winter. I don’t know where they sent him, but surely to a place where he matured well. He also brings new energy to Formula 1, adds a bit of joy, and besides, he’s Toto Wolff’s protégé.”

Arnoux isn’t a big fan of today’s Formula 1 races: “I usually prefer watching motorcycle racing; I can’t say I like F1. I just can’t wrap my head around lifting off the throttle to recover energy and recharge the battery—even in qualifying. I’ve always known Formula 1 as qualifying and a one-and-a-half-hour race driven at full throttle the whole time, so for me, this isn’t Formula 1.”

“Several drivers have said the same thing—it’s not very enjoyable to drive these kinds of cars. And then there’s traction control—you never see a spin. They say it’s forbidden, but the engineers who build the cars are much smarter and more skilled than the ones who write the rules.”