- Kimi Antonelli leads the 2026 championship by 66 points after five straight wins.
- Marco Antonelli calls Verstappen “an example” for his son, not a rival.
- Shared passion for GT3 racing has built a genuine friendship between the families.
Marco Antonelli has praised his son Kimi’s electric start to the 2026 Formula 1 season, but he has been careful to put the teenager’s achievements in perspective.
Speaking to Formule 1 Magazine, the elder Antonelli said it is too early to compare the 19-year-old with four-time world champion Max Verstappen, despite Kimi sitting at the top of the drivers’ standings.
A dream start that has reshaped the title race
Kimi has won five of his first six races this season, accumulating a 66-point lead over Lewis Hamilton and a 68-point advantage over Mercedes teammate George Russell.
His most recent win came at the Monaco Grand Prix, where he converted pole position into a lights-to-flag victory. The race included crashes, a safety car and a red-flag stoppage, but none of it unsettled the young Italian.
Verstappen, by contrast, retired on the opening lap in Monaco. Russell’s Monaco campaign fell apart after a late drive-through penalty dropped him out of the points.
That left Kimi as the clear pace-setter at Mercedes. His five-race winning streak has now placed him in rare company in the sport’s history.
Yet the results have not changed how his father reads the situation. Marco Antonelli was measured in his assessment and chose his words with care.
Marco Antonelli draws the line on the Verstappen comparison
The two families share more than a passing familiarity. Marco owns AKM Motorsport and competes in sportscar racing. Verstappen has also raced Mercedes-AMG GT3 machinery, including a run at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. That shared background has helped build a friendship between the camps.
“Max is a nice guy with a friendly character. He is also a friend of ours. We both also run a Mercedes GT3 team,” Marco told Formula 1 Magazine. He acknowledged the talent both drivers share, but was firm about where the line falls:
“But it is still too early to compare Kimi with Max. Of course, there is a clear similarity: they are both fast. On his own, Max is already a four-time world champion, while Kimi still has a long way to go to achieve what Max has already achieved.”
Kimi has spoken previously about wanting to race alongside Verstappen in an endurance event. That ambition shows the warmth between them, rather than any sense of rivalry.
A mentor first, a rival later
Marco Antonelli pointed to the regular contact between the two drivers as evidence of a constructive, mentor-style dynamic. The pair speak at nearly every race weekend, and Kimi has said publicly that Verstappen is a driver he looks up to and learns from.
“It’s nice to see that they have a good relationship. Max and Kimi speak to each other almost every weekend,“ Marco said. “At the same time, it is clear that Max is on another level as a driver at the moment.”
His view was direct: Verstappen remains a standard his son has yet to reach, not a peer he has already matched. Marco acknowledged the possibility, though. “I hope he comes close to that one day,” he said, “but at this stage of his career, Max is mainly an example for him.”
The standings may paint a picture of a generational shift, but Kimi’s father is keeping his feet on the ground. One brilliant half-season is a beginning, not a verdict.
