Valtteri Bottas said he was \u201creally proud\u201d of Kimi Antonelli in the wake of the teenager\u2019s maiden F1 win in Shanghai, which he followed up a week later with another victory in Suzuka.<\/p>\n
The Mercedes<\/a> man is just 19-years-old, and is the first teenager to record multiple Grand Prix victories. He is also the youngest driver to lead the Championship<\/a>, with his Suzuka win putting him nine points ahead of team mate George Russell<\/a> who finished fourth in Japan.<\/p>\n Bottas<\/a> knows the pressure of driving for a Championship winning team, having spent five seasons with the Silver Arrows between 2017 and 2021 before moving to Kick Sauber, and then Cadillac.<\/a> He lined up against Lewis Hamilton during his time with Mercedes, and recorded 10 wins.<\/p>\n He also spent last season as Mercedes\u2019 Reserve Driver, and was in the team’s garage with Antonelli, watching the then 18-year-old take the first steps in his F1 career.<\/p>\n \u201cI was really happy to see that, Kimi getting his first win. I think it was just a matter of time with the machinery they have this year, and he just had a solid weekend \u2013 very good Qualifying, very good race, and got the win,\u201d Bottas said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s definitely grown a lot \u2013 he\u2019s still very young and gaining experience from every weekend, but I was always expecting him to kind of make a step from year one to year two, and it seems like he has been able to do that so it\u2019s really good to see.\u201d<\/p>\n Antonelli\u2019s rookie season was one of highs and lows \u2013 from the Sprint pole in Miami and a maiden podium in Canada, to multiple crashes and a difficult run of form throughout the European chunk of the season.<\/p>\n He failed to score in six of seven Grands Prix around that Canadian podium, unable to really help team mate Russell in the Constructors\u2019 battle for Mercedes.<\/p>\n But the Italian found his form late in the season to take back-to-back podiums in Brazil and Las Vegas, which helped the Silver Arrows finish second in the end behind McLaren.<\/a><\/p>\n Antonelli\u2019s second season has started much more positively, the teenager backing up Russell\u2019s win in Australia with a P2 finish, before going on to win the next two races \u2013 finishing fifth in the China Sprint too.<\/p>\n