{"id":2397,"date":"2026-09-17T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=2397"},"modified":"2026-09-17T10:27:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:27:40","slug":"norris-calls-antonellis-2026-form-pretty-scary-it-doesnt-look-like-his-second-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/norris-calls-antonellis-2026-form-pretty-scary-it-doesnt-look-like-his-second-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Norris calls Antonelli&#8217;s 2026 form &#8220;pretty scary&#8221;: &#8220;It doesn&#8217;t look like his second year&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lando Norris described Andrea Kimi Antonelli&#8217;s 2026 performance as &#8220;pretty scary&#8221;<\/strong> after the Mercedes driver extended his championship lead in Madrid.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Norris highlighted Antonelli&#8217;s ability to beat the experienced George Russell and said the Italian does not look like a driver in only his second F1 season.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Antonelli has won <strong>8 of the first 14 races<\/strong> and leads Russell by 81 points with 9 rounds remaining.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lando Norris believes Andrea Kimi Antonelli&#8217;s performances in 2026 have reached a level that is difficult to associate with a 20-year-old in only his second Formula 1 season, describing the Mercedes driver&#8217;s championship campaign as &#8220;pretty scary&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Antonelli strengthened his position at the top of the standings by winning the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, his <strong>eighth victory in 14 races<\/strong>. The result extended his advantage over Mercedes team-mate George Russell to 81 points, leaving the Italian firmly in control of the title fight with 9 rounds remaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norris, the reigning world champion, believes the most telling measure of Antonelli&#8217;s season is not simply the points or victories, but what he has achieved against Russell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;He&#8217;s 80 points ahead because he&#8217;s doing an incredible job. He&#8217;s beating a much more experienced team-mate, and a very good team-mate, so I don&#8217;t want to give him any advice because, at just 20 years old, he&#8217;s doing a pretty scary job. It&#8217;s really impressive,&#8221; Norris said during the press conference in Madrid, attended by <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norris also pointed to Antonelli&#8217;s consistency. After a rookie campaign in which flashes of speed were accompanied by the expected learning process, the Mercedes driver has turned his second season into a sustained championship run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I think it&#8217;s really cool to see someone so young doing such an incredible job and, most likely, going on to win the title. He&#8217;s impressed since the first race this year. He&#8217;s made very few mistakes. He just doesn&#8217;t drive like someone who&#8217;s only in his second year of F1, that&#8217;s for sure,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The praise is particularly significant given Norris&#8217;s own position. McLaren has won races in 2026 \u2014 Norris has 2 victories and came close to adding another in Madrid \u2014 but has not consistently matched Mercedes across different circuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Madrid provided another example. McLaren had enough pace to challenge at the front, but Antonelli ultimately converted Mercedes&#8217; opportunity into another victory and further strengthened a championship position that has become increasingly difficult for his rivals to challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norris nevertheless expects the Antonelli rivalry to extend well beyond the current season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We&#8217;ll have many, many years of fighting ahead and I&#8217;m excited for us to keep battling, hopefully still this year, and also for all of us to continue racing together in the future. I&#8217;m looking forward to it,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Antonelli, the compliment adds another voice to a growing list of rivals acknowledging the scale of his second F1 season. Max Verstappen has already praised the Mercedes driver&#8217;s work, while Russell has conceded that his own championship prospects have become increasingly remote after Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The striking part is how quickly the conversation has changed. Antonelli entered 2026 as one of the grid&#8217;s most closely watched young drivers. Fourteen races later, <strong>his age and experience are becoming secondary to the fact that everyone else is trying to catch him<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Formula 1 now takes a weekend off before returning for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku from September 24-26. Follow all the latest championship news and analysis through the <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> English F1 coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-italia-monza-corrida-gabriel-lopez-podio-4-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"F1 2026, IT\u00c1LIA, DOMINGO, CORRIDA, P\u00d3DIO, GABRIEL L\u00d3PEZ, MERCEDES, KIMI ANTONELLI, RETRATO\" class=\"wp-image-1020314375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-italia-monza-corrida-gabriel-lopez-podio-4-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-italia-monza-corrida-gabriel-lopez-podio-4-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-italia-monza-corrida-gabriel-lopez-podio-4-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-italia-monza-corrida-gabriel-lopez-podio-4-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-italia-monza-corrida-gabriel-lopez-podio-4-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-italia-monza-corrida-gabriel-lopez-podio-4-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f1-2026-italia-monza-corrida-gabriel-lopez-podio-4.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Norris hails &#8220;pretty scary&#8221; Antonelli as 20-year-old closes on F1 title (Photo: Gabriel L\u00f3pez\/Grande Pr\u00eamio)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How many races has Andrea Kimi Antonelli won in F1 in 2026?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Antonelli has won <strong>8 of the first 14 races<\/strong> of the 2026 Formula 1 season, including the most recent Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How many points ahead is Antonelli in the 2026 F1 championship?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Antonelli leads Mercedes team-mate George Russell by <strong>81 points<\/strong> with 9 rounds remaining in the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What did Lando Norris say about Kimi Antonelli?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norris praised Antonelli&#8217;s ability to beat a highly experienced team-mate in Russell and described his performance at just 20 years old as &#8220;pretty scary&#8221;. He also said Antonelli does not look like a driver competing in only his second F1 season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lando Norris says Andrea Kimi Antonelli&#8217;s ability to consistently beat the far more experienced George Russell shows just how quickly the 20-year-old has developed into F1&#8217;s championship benchmark<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020314859,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Lando Norris","42wp_featured_image_credits":"McLaren","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_ai_content_disclaimer":"","42wp_is_ai_content":false,"42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[],"footnotes":"","42wp_hide_from_automatic":false,"42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[19,117,10,16],"42wp_author":[58],"class_list":["post-2397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-andrea-kimi-antonelli","tag-lando-norris","tag-mclaren","tag-mercedes","42wp_author-vicente-soella"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2397"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2400,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2397\/revisions\/2400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020314859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2397"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=2397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}