Better than Verstappen? Mercedes has created a monster in Antonelli

So who saw that coming? Probably not George Russell. With three races of the F1 2026 season completed, Kimi Antonelli leads the world championship from his established Mercedes teammate by nine points.

Now it makes sense why Mercedes was so keen to fast-track Antonelli to an F1 seat two years ago. Not even Max Verstappen was this complete at the same age…

Kimi Antonelli is destined for F1 greatness

A version of this article originally appeared in PlanetF1.com’s conclusions from the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix

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Regular readers of PlanetF1.com’s post-race conclusions will be familiar with a concept called the complete elimination of doubt.

It is the point at which a driver begins to have the look and feel of a world champion, best captured in those moments when he sets pole position or takes the lead of a race and never looks back.

It is a step change not just in performance but psychology; the moment at which confidence morphs into certainty.

At this stage of a driver’s development, victory starts to feel not only inevitable, but a matter of routine.

Kimi Antonelli is not there yet. Not even close.

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If he had been, he would have taken pole at the Japanese Grand Prix and promptly disappeared into the distance, not allowing his over-enthusiastic (nervy?) right foot to lose him a bunch of places at the start.

But in a season like this, and with a Mercedes this dominant, you can see how he could get there – and in a quicker manner than pretty much every driver to have come before.

Still in the afterglow of his maiden victory in China, it made more sense than ever at Suzuka why Mercedes was prepared to take a chance on a teenager two years ago.

The boy wonder has had no option but to grow up quickly, the signs of promise and moments of exasperation rolling into one over the last 12 months.

And what does Mercedes have now as a result of that occasionally painful process?

Probably the most advanced driver for his age (19) and experience (27 races) there has ever been in Formula 1.

Overlook the lacklustre start and it was as though Antonelli’s first win bled naturally into another at Suzuka.

This victory – the effortless way he glided to pole position, the style with which he coolly converted the lucky break handed to him by a well-timed safety car – was marked by a self-assurance and confidence that comes only with the feel of a winner’s trophy in your hands for the first time.

He is growing rapidly in stature and getting better with each passing race.

And which race just happens to be next?

Ah, yes: Miami, where he offered the first real glimpse of his potential by setting pole for the sprint race last year.

If he was not already aware, George Russell has a battle on his hands…

Toto Wolff: ‘Here we go, Kimi. Victory’

It really is not that long ago that Antonelli still had the look of a little boy lost in the big wide world of Formula 1.

Recall, for instance, how he was moved to tears at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix as he suffered two Q1 exits on the same weekend.

And after all the talk of a much-needed reset over the summer break, he started the second half of 2025 by driving into Charles Leclerc at Zandvoort.

At that point, it seemed it was a mistake by Mercedes to pile so much pressure on the shoulders of someone so young.

And no doubt a year or three in a Williams, as George Russell spent from 2019-21, would have done him no harm.

Yet the strides he has taken since then – starting with his impressive drives in Brazil and Las Vegas at the end of last year – have been astonishing.

No doubt this was part of the plan.

No doubt Mercedes hoped that the experiences both good and bad would leave a mark on Antonelli.

So that when the moment arrived and he had a car with which to fully express his talent, he would be sufficiently battle-hardened to maximise the opportunity.

That, to all intents and purposes, is what we have witnessed so far in 2026.

Let’s leave the last word to Toto Wolff, who had a message for the doubters over team radio when Antonelli crossed the line to secure his first win in China…

“He’s too young. We shouldn’t put him in a Mercedes. Put him in a smaller team. He needs the experience. Look at the mistakes he makes…

“Here we go, Kimi.

“Victory.”

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