Giancarlo Minardi has revealed the precise moment he became convinced that Kimi Antonelli was ready to win in Formula 1, identifying the Italian’s standout performance in Brazil during the 2025 season as the point when his potential turned into genuine maturity. With six victories from the opening 11 Grands Prix of 2026, the Mercedes driver has since established himself as one of the central figures of Formula 1’s new era.
Kimi Antonelli’s remarkable start to his second season has surprised many observers, but not Giancarlo Minardi. Speaking in an exclusive interview with NewsF1, the former Formula 1 team principal explained that he had never doubted the young Italian’s talent, even if the scale of his success in 2026 has exceeded expectations.
Brazil convinced Giancarlo Minardi that Kimi Antonelli was ready to win
For Giancarlo Minardi, the turning point did not come during Kimi Antonelli’s current title challenge. Instead, it arrived at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2025, when the Mercedes youngster finished second and kept Max Verstappen behind him.
“I was certain he would win Grands Prix. I became certain after last year’s race in Brazil, when he finished second while keeping a certain Verstappen behind him.”
According to the former team boss from Faenza, that performance represented the definitive transition from promising youngster to a driver capable of competing at Formula 1’s highest level.
“That was when you could see he had reached maturity.”
The assessment has taken on even greater significance in 2026, with Kimi Antonelli now leading the Formula 1 drivers’ championship after establishing himself as Mercedes’ strongest performer during the opening half of the season.
Six wins surprised Minardi, but Kimi Antonelli’s talent did not
Giancarlo Minardi admitted that even he would have struggled to predict six victories so early in the campaign. However, he stressed that he had never questioned Kimi Antonelli’s underlying ability.
“Even I would have struggled to bet on six Grand Prix victories, but I have never had any doubts about the boy’s qualities.”
Those words underline the confidence Giancarlo Minardi has placed in Kimi Antonelli since the Italian’s development through the junior categories. The Mercedes driver’s rise has been so rapid that debate has already shifted from whether he possesses championship potential to how complete a driver he has become, although other experienced figures have argued that Kimi Antonelli still has areas to develop before becoming a complete F1 champion.
The advice Giancarlo Minardi gave Kimi Antonelli
During the interview, Giancarlo Minardi also revealed the advice he has consistently given the young Mercedes driver as his Formula 1 career has developed.
“I’ve always told him: do what Mother Nature gave you the ability to do and only talk to your engineer Bono.”
It is a simple philosophy, but one that Minardi believes has helped Kimi Antonelli concentrate exclusively on his work without being distracted by the intense media pressure that inevitably surrounds an Italian talent driving for a leading Formula 1 team.
Why Kimi Antonelli understands the 2026 F1 regulations so well
Giancarlo Minardi believes one of the secrets behind Kimi Antonelli’s success is his ability to adapt to Formula 1’s new generation of cars.
“He is the one who has understood this car better than anyone.”
That assessment goes beyond the number of victories Antonelli has accumulated. In Minardi’s view, the Mercedes driver has understood the characteristics of the new 2026 Formula 1 machinery more quickly than his rivals, allowing him to exploit the car’s performance from the beginning of the season.
His impact has also extended beyond the circuit. Kimi Antonelli’s emergence at the front of Formula 1 has contributed to growing interest in motorsport in his home country, with the ‘Kimi Antonelli effect’ helping drive record growth across Italian motorsport.
A champion who remains grounded
Giancarlo Minardi nevertheless urged caution. The 2026 season is still only around its halfway point, while McLaren continues to improve, Max Verstappen remains a formidable opponent and Ferrari has already demonstrated that it is capable of winning races.
Yet Minardi believes Kimi Antonelli has already displayed one of the defining qualities of the greatest champions: maturity. Combined with his natural talent and the work carried out with Mercedes, that quality is helping transform the Italian into one of the reference points for Formula 1’s new generation.
Mercedes therefore appears to have found a driver capable of building its future around. The six victories have provided the clearest evidence yet, but for Giancarlo Minardi the decisive sign had already arrived months earlier in Brazil, when Kimi Antonelli showed that he could absorb pressure, keep Max Verstappen behind him and deliver like an established Formula 1 front-runner.
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