Martin Brundle hails Kimi Antonelli's "quite extraordinary" Mercedes progress

Martin Brundle and Jamie Chadwick praised Kimi Antonelli’s rapid Formula 1 growth

Kimi Antonelli has earned high praise from former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle, who described the young Italian's development during his second season as "quite extraordinary".

Following a high-pressure rookie season in 2025, when he took the position left by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, the 19-year-old became the youngest driver to lead the championship and has won three consecutive grands prix in China, Japan and Miami.

Speaking during the Sky Sports F1 broadcast ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, Brundle explained: "He has a strong support structure around him, as do all the drivers in Formula 1 these days.

"They're very lucky in that respect, but to keep his head and come back and shine. And then we saw Lando hunting him down in Miami, for example. Kimi of last year would probably run off the track somewhere, but this year he's just rock solid. And that kind of progress at his age is just quite extraordinary."

Three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick, who joined Brundle on the broadcast, added: "He's a bit of a young pup in a way, isn't he? He's come in with this amazing energy, and I think the team have really enjoyed that, appreciated that.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images

"But he's also got the performance, clearly. I think even the fact that he's half a tenth off George here, at a track George loves, knows well, he's pushing him so hard and not really making that many mistakes now.

"We spoke about it a lot last year: is he a generational talent or not? I think time will obviously tell, but he's definitely exceeding my expectations anyway for this season.

"His second year in Formula 1, he started out not many years ago racing, but it's such a fast-track journey that he's had. But the fact that he's got to this point and he's competing at the level that he's competing at, with the way Formula 1 is now, which is so complex, is super impressive."