Who is Kimi Antonelli and how is he doing in the 2026 season?

Kimi Antonelli is a 19-year-old Mercedes driver who leads the drivers' standings with a 50-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton, after his first win in China and a streak of five consecutive victories.

What did Max Verstappen say about Antonelli?

Verstappen praised Antonelli saying he is 'solid as a rock', has done a really good job, and it's impressive to see such a performance from a 19-year-old.

What is Verstappen's position in the 2026 championship?

Max Verstappen currently sits in sixth place, 110 points behind leader Antonelli.

What does Red Bull need to work on according to Verstappen?

Verstappen stressed that they need to find an overall better car performance and solve the problems that cause them to lose performance over the weekend or even from the start to the end of the race.

Formula 1

Verstappen: Antonelli 'Solid as a Rock', Impressive First Half of Season

F.B. · 30. 07. 2026. | 2 min

The four-time world champion from Red Bull praised 19-year-old championship leader Kimi Antonelli, while also acknowledging his own car troubles.

Summary

Kimi Antonelli (19) leads the drivers' standings with a 50-point advantage over Hamilton.
Max Verstappen praises Antonelli as 'solid as a rock' and calls his first half of 2026 impressive.
Verstappen trails the leader by 110 points and believes Red Bull must urgently improve overall performance.
Antonelli followed his first win in China with five consecutive wins, but also had mechanical issues in Barcelona and Silverstone.

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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen highlighted that 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli has done a "really good job" in the first half of the 2026 season and described him as "solid as a rock," according to the official Formula 1 website.

Antonelli, a Mercedes driver, currently leads the drivers' standings with a 50-point advantage over teammate Lewis Hamilton. After his first career victory in China, the young Italian strung together five consecutive wins and became the youngest driver ever to top the championship standings.

Despite a retirement in Barcelona due to a mechanical failure and reliability issues at Silverstone where he finished without points, Antonelli holds a comfortable lead at the top.

Verstappen: "He was solid as a rock"

"I think, if you look ahead, Kimi has done a really good job. Very strong, very solid, the strongest in the team," Verstappen told the official Formula 1 website. "As a 19-year-old, so far, I think he's been solid as a rock. That's really impressive to see as an outsider."

The four-time world champion didn't hide his own difficulties. He currently sits only sixth in the overall standings, 110 points behind leader Antonelli. "For me this year it's definitely been a bit of a jungle, but I'm just trying to enjoy it where I can. Of course, when the car is a bit nicer to drive, you can enjoy it more," he added.

Red Bull's Priorities After the Break

After finishing second at the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of the summer break, Verstappen emphasized what his Milton Keynes team needs to improve. "First we have to find an overall better performance. Then we have to solve our problems, where sometimes we simply lose performance over the weekend, or even from the start of the race to the end. So yes, that's actually a big priority," the Dutchman said.

He also described Antonelli off the track: "Overall, a very strong performance. Nice to see. He is, first and foremost, a fine person and a very strong driver, so that's a good combination."