– Is Kimi Antonelli one of the Formula 1 drivers who will shape the premier class in the coming years? Former Racing Bulls team principal Franz Tost suggests in a conversation with 15 Love – the Business Podcast that he certainly trusts the teenager to do so.
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“I am surprised that he currently has Russell clearly under control,” said Tost about Antonelli, who recently won four Grand Prix races in a row and already has a 43-point lead over his Mercedes teammate George Russell in the drivers’ championship after the Canadian Grand Prix.
“I did not expect that to this extent,” said Tost. Antonelli has shown “a sensational performance” in only his second Formula 1 season so far, he praised, and explained: “How composed he drives, with what overview he drives, I already count him among the new superstars.”
According to Tost, this group also includes McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. “Max Verstappen is currently the best driver in Formula 1,” the 70-year-old made clear. But one must also acknowledge “that Kimi Antonelli is doing a sensational job.”
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“It is important not to get a big head now,” Tost says to Antonelli and explains that he should continue to approach the season race by race. “Just focus on the task,” Tost advises him and adds that the 19-year-old must stay grounded.
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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff will “properly guide” Antonelli in this regard, Tost is sure. Nevertheless, the world championship title will not be a foregone conclusion even with a 43-point lead now. A warning example is Oscar Piastri’s season last year.
The Australian led the championship at one point with a 34-point lead but ended up only third in the world championship. “Drivers get nervous then, […] when they consider the overall picture too much,” explains Tost, who worked with many later Grand Prix winners and even world champions during his time in Formula 1.
“When someone leads the world championship so clearly, is so far ahead, then he puts pressure on himself to win the world championship. And if you then no longer focus race by race, if you only think about the whole, then you lose the thread,” he warns.
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During his time at Racing Bulls and the predecessor teams Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri, Tost worked as team principal with Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz, and Pierre Gasly, among others.
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