Kimi Antonelli backed to win F1 title younger than Max Verstappen

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has been backed to win a Formula 1Formula 1 World ChampionshipInternational world championship at a younger age than Max VerstappenMax VerstappenRed Bull · Netherlands · Driver6th POS127 PTS, after the 20-year-old won his home Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid. The support comes from David Croft, a lead commentator on Formula 1 coverage, who pointed to the maturity of the drive at Monza last weekend.

Antonelli started 19th and won in front of a home crowd, a result reported to make him the first home driver to win at Monza in 60 years. The victory is reported to have extended a title charge that is gathering pace, though the shape of that championship has not been set out.

2026

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POS

6th

PTS

127

WINS

0

PODIUMS

5

Season 2026

The comparison with Verstappen

Michał Obrochta · CC BY-SA 4.0

Croft's case is that Antonelli can become a world champion at a younger age than Verstappen. It rests on the Italian Grand Prix performance rather than on any target announced by the team: Mercedes has not said publicly that the title is the aim this season, and no age at which a first championship might arrive has been discussed by anyone involved.

A win from 19th on the grid is rare, and coming at a home race it carries weight beyond the points awarded. It is also the single result on which the prediction rests, at a stage of the season when the destination of the championship is still unresolved.

What is not yet known

Nicolas Tucat | Credit: AP · CC BY 4.0

Neither Mercedes nor Antonelli has responded publicly to Croft's prediction, and the team has not set out what it expects from the remaining rounds. No points gap between Antonelli and his rivals has been put on the record, and Mercedes has not commented on whether it expects to fight for the title.

Madrid's first Formula 1 weekend

Formula 1's first visit to the circuit built around the IFEMA complex in Madrid has caused less disruption than some in the paddock had feared. Formula 3 and Formula 2 sessions at the new Spanish Grand Prix venue produced several crashes, including a car catching fire, but the only Formula 1 incident so far is a crash for Arvid Lindblad.

That has kept the circuit, known as the Madring, from being described as a 'car killer' during its opening weekend, at least for now. Whether it stays that way through the rest of the grand prix programme is not yet clear.

For Antonelli, the next step is to turn one comeback drive into a sustained championship challenge, with a prominent commentator now on record backing him to do it. For Madrid, the test is whether a relatively clean start survives the remainder of a full race weekend.