Ricciardo is candid about Kimi Antonelli: “Ignorance is a superpower…”

Former Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo spoke about Andrea Kimi Antonelli—who is winning his first Formula 1 World Championship at just 20 years old—in an interview on the Beyond the Grid podcast. It’s a remarkable feat, though the Australian wanted to send a clear warning to the driver from Bologna.

“The other day, a friend asked me about Kimi Antonelli, and I replied, ‘Ignorance is a superpower.’ It’s not meant to be derogatory toward him, but youth really is a superpower: being young, ignorant, not yet fully exposed to the ways of the world.”

“I remember my first year at Red Bull,” Ricciardo continued, “you’re naive, young, oblivious to everything, and everything comes easily to you. You think, ‘Wow, I’m winning—fantastic! I’ll keep winning because I’m the best.’ I don’t want to compare myself to him—let’s be clear—but in a sport and a world that can be extremely intense, youth is an advantage; as the years go by, you inevitably end up accumulating a wealth of experience.”

“Right now, he’s in that ideal situation: he’s undoubtedly very talented and very fast, but he hasn’t accumulated any ‘baggage’ yet. It’s as if he can just get on the track and race, with no other thoughts on his mind,” Ricciardo stated plainly.

The Australian driver admitted that the end of his F1 career in 2024 left him feeling deeply bitter: “People saw me in public. I was having fun, having a drink or something, but in reality I was just trying to hide what I was feeling deep down: great pain and deep sadness. You feel a sense of humiliation, as if I had failed and was no longer able to do what I used to be able to do.”