Kimi Antonelli admitted Lewis Hamilton will be “tough to deal with” in a potential title fight, and the Mercedes driver will have to be “ready for anything” against his opponenTS.
The seven-time world champion notched his first win in Ferrari colours in Barcelona to move 41 points behind the championship leader, after Antonelli retired in the closing stages.
Kimi Antonelli: Lewis Hamilton ‘in great form’ as talk of title fight begins
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The teenager is in only his second season in Formula 1, and with Hamilton having been crowned champion for the first time in his sophomore campaign, the Briton has gone on to break records throughout the sport.
Hamilton spoke of taking a potential title battle one race at a time this season, while Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff declared his former driver as “absolutely” being in the hunt.
Antonelli, though, acknowledged the pressure of having any driver on the grid chasing him in the standings, not just the Ferrari driver.
When asked by PlanetF1.com in Austria if there is an added ‘intimidation factor’ behind having the sport’s most statistically successful driver as the one second in the standings to him at the moment, the young Italian believes it would be the same with the grid’s other champions.
“Like, to be fair, with everyone else, I think if it will be Max (Verstappen), it would be the same with Lando (Norris), also George, when also you have so many drivers with so much experience that they’ve been in that situation many times, they’re always going to be tough to deal with.
“Lewis, as I said, is in great form, and it’s going to be tough because it’s been driving super well.
Barcelona, his last stint was very impressive, and he’s just been feeling well with the car recently – and plus Ferrari, they’ve improved their package even further.
“It’s going to be a battle, but I wouldn’t write off anyone else as well, because of course now in the fight is mainly me, Lewis, and George, but you never know.
“Look at Max last year, he came back out of nowhere, and still there’s still so many races left, and anything can happen.”
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Hamilton’s last involvement in a title fight came in the dramatic 2021 campaign, in which he and Max Verstappen battled throughout the season before its dramatic conclusion in Abu Dhabi.
Put to Antonelli about how he would handle a similar kind of season, he admitted that he has to be prepared for all kinds of scenarios as the season unfolds.
“Well, I’ve got to be ready for anything,” he said.
“I’ve got to be ready to fight, and to really give my best because, again, it’s one of those opportunities that don’t happen every year.
So, of course, I’ve got to be ready.
“Of course, I still have so much to learn, so much experience that I still need to make, but for what I’ve learned and what I’m learning so far, I’m just going to try to be as ready as I can in case that opportunity becomes even more realistic towards the end of the year.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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