{"id":832172,"date":"2026-07-29T22:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T22:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/832172\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T22:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T22:44:11","slug":"stefano-domenicali-hails-incredible-asset-kimi-antonelli-and-backs-max-verstappen-to-stay-in-formula-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/832172\/","title":{"rendered":"Stefano Domenicali hails “incredible asset” Kimi Antonelli and backs Max Verstappen to stay in Formula 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Formula 1 President and CEO<\/a> Stefano Domenicali has described Kimi Antonelli as an \u201cincredible asset\u201d for the sport while backing Max Verstappen to remain on the grid despite the Dutchman’s misgivings about the current state of the sport<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Antonelli has emerged as one of the defining stories of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The Mercedes teenager has claimed six Grand Prix victories and became the youngest driver in history to lead the Drivers\u2019 Championship.<\/p>\n

His performances have placed him firmly in the title fight, while his personality and accessibility have helped attract a new generation of supporters. Domenicali believes the Italian has delivered both on and off the track: <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s fresh, he is still very new and very open to any kind of things that are happening to him,” ventured the F1 Chief. “He has brought a lot of new fans connected to him, because the nature of his way of engaging is fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heading to the summer break, Antonelli tops the 2026\u00a0F1 standings by 50 points over Ferrari’s seven time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, and the only other realistic title rival, teammate George Russell in the other Merecdes, who is 59 points adrift.<\/p>\n

Antonelli\u2019s rise has additional significance in Italy\"SI202606060786\"\/<\/p>\n

Antonelli\u2019s speed has been matched by impressive consistency during his first genuine championship campaign. Domenicali argued that the Mercedes driver\u2019s position could have been even stronger without two retirements caused by technical problems.<\/p>\n

Domenicali explained: \u201cOn the sport side, he has proven to be very strong. Don\u2019t forget that, without the two DNFs related to problems on the car, the championship for him would be an even a bigger gap. He\u2019s proven to be very solid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antonelli\u2019s rise has also carried additional significance in Italy, where supporters have waited decades for a home driver capable of fighting regularly at the front of Formula 1. Domenicali said: \u201cThe last Italian driver that won something important was many, many, many years ago. Therefore, he\u2019s added a new dimension.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also praised Antonelli\u2019s relationship with his rivals, although he acknowledged that the atmosphere could change if the title battle intensifies: \u201cThe relationship today with the other drivers is fantastic. The relationship may be different, of course, if we start winning the championship, but that\u2019s the nature of our sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Max will stay with us, and I really hope so\"Domenicali-Verstappen-Melbourne-25-2026\"\/<\/p>\n

Domenicali has known Antonelli for several years and believes the teenager can become one of Formula 1\u2019s most important figures: \u201cI can only be very happy with the way that he\u2019s engaged with our sport. I\u2019ve known him for many, many years, and he\u2019s an incredible asset for the future and what we\u2019re doing together.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Antonelli\u2019s rise has transformed the championship, uncertainty continues to surround Verstappen\u2019s long-term future. The Dutchman has endured a less straightforward 2026 campaign, prompting speculation over whether he could eventually step away from Formula 1 or pursue opportunities elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Domenicali, however, remains confident that Verstappen\u2019s commitment to the sport remains strong: \u201cMax is an incredible driver. He loves Formula 1. I have an incredible relationship with him. My opinion is that Max will stay with us, and I really hope so.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Antonelli may represent Formula 1\u2019s future, but Domenicali clearly believes there remains an important place in that future for Verstappen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali has described Kimi Antonelli as an \u201cincredible asset\u201d for the sport…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":832173,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,35119,813,816,10115,825,85,52474],"class_list":["post-832172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-f1-news","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-kimi-antonelli","tag-max-verstappen","tag-sports","tag-stefano-domenicali"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/832173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}