Max Verstappen has praised Kimi Antonelli after the Mercedes rookie reached Formula 1’s summer break with six wins from his first 11 Grands Prix.
Verstappen weighs in
Max Verstappen has named Kimi Antonelli among the standout figures of Formula 1’s 2026 season. The four-time world champion’s view adds another layer to a rookie campaign that has already produced six victories in 11 Grands Prix.
Verstappen’s praise, reported on August 11, offers another measure of Antonelli’s performance beyond the familiar age records. The Mercedes driver’s instant success has also drawn comparisons with Verstappen’s swift rise after he entered F1 as a 17-year-old in 2015.
Six wins before the break
Antonelli won in China on March 15 before adding victories in Japan, Miami, Canada and Monaco. Win number six arrived in Belgium on July 19, where he finished 1.952 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc.
That makes for an extraordinary opening half.
Mercedes has claimed eight wins from the first 11 races, including George Russell’s victories in Australia and Austria. Antonelli has accounted for 75 percent of the team’s wins, while also finishing second to Russell in Melbourne and third in Austria and Hungary.
A rookie benchmark without precedent
No previous F1 rookie has won six of his first 11 championship starts. Giuseppe Farina took the inaugural 1950 championship with three victories across seven races, although every driver was technically a rookie in the new series.
Lewis Hamilton established the modern rookie standard in 2007. Driving for McLaren, he won four races, stood on the podium in his first nine starts and ended the season one point behind champion Kimi Raikkonen.
Jacques Villeneuve won four races in his 1996 debut season as well. Antonelli has already surpassed both drivers by two victories, and 12 rounds are still listed on the 2026 calendar.
The Verstappen comparison
Verstappen took a different route. He became F1’s youngest race winner in Spain in 2016 at 18 years and 228 days, but the victory arrived on his 24th Grand Prix start and followed his promotion from Toro Rosso to Red Bull.
Antonelli started in a front-running Mercedes and capitalized almost at once. His first win came in his second Grand Prix, ahead of a five-race winning streak from China through Monaco.
Equipment shapes every cross-era comparison. Execution does too. Antonelli’s results show both factors at work, with Russell winning twice in the same car and taking four runner-up finishes.
The next historical target
Antonelli’s six victories equal Tony Brooks’ full career total. He now sits one win behind 1961 world champion Phil Hill, René Arnoux, Juan Pablo Montoya and Daniel Ricciardo.
The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort is next, running from August 21 to 23, before Monza follows on September 4 to 6. Mercedes is considering power-unit penalties in the second half, making Antonelli’s home race the first immediate test of whether his record-setting pace can withstand a compromised grid position.
