Robert Kubica voiced some criticism of Kimi Antonelli, while still backing his potential to become world champion in 2026.The young Italian driver has shown significant progress compared to last year, winning two of the three races so far and taking the lead of the Formula 1 world championship for the first time in his career at Suzuka.
Speaking to SportMediaset, the former Polish driver, however, also issued a warning to Antonelli, criticising some of his behaviour on social media and suggesting he should cut it out.
“I hope he’ll focus only on driving, because at times I see him doing too much bull***t on Instagram. Obviously nowadays that brings a lot of attention, but right now he can’t afford to waste energy – he needs to focus on one single goal, which is fighting for and winning the world championship.”
Follow GPblog on social media to stay updated on all Formula 1 news: Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.Asked whether he can realistically win the title, Kubica added: “I don’t see why not. I’m very happy for him, especially because F1 is a sport that puts you under huge pressure.
“In my opinion, he’s had plenty of that in the past, especially last year, but he has people around him who care about him, who have invested a lot of time and money and recognised a unique talent. Now he’s paying them back. The road is still long, but he’s well aware of that.”
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Photo: Race Pictures
Irvine sees Russell-Antonelli feud brewing over title stakesSpeaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, the former Ferrari driver said he is convinced the two will inevitably clash, given how high the stakes are and how closely matched they appear to be, adding that Toto Wolff would not be able to control the situation through team orders.
He also noted that Wolff has already managed highly tense situations in the past, first during the Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry and later when Hamilton went up against Verstappen.
He added that the clash between Hamilton and Verstappen even led to a major crash at Silverstone, suggesting the seven-time world champion grew frustrated as he felt the Dutchman was driving in an overly aggressive manner.
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