‘The guy is something else’: Damon Hill tips Kimi Antonelli for F1 crown

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli (AP Photo) Mumbai: While George Russell was a rookie in Formula 1 in 2019, Kimi Antonelli had just become a teenager, albeit one who had already shown promise as he rose through the karting ranks. Fast forward to 2026 and it’s a fascinating story unfolding on the track, with two racing drivers at the center of the story. It is not Russell, the experienced dog, who leads the F1 drivers’ championship, but his Mercedes team-mate Antonelli, still a teenager, who sits at the top with a 40-point lead going into Sunday’s British Grand Prix. Watching a young hunk grab the limelight you’ve very likely assumed was your own, especially in a sport as unique as F1, can be an ego-crushing experience. If that’s the case for Russell, then it’s a sentiment Briton compatriot and former F1 champion Damon Hill can easily relate to. “As a driver, if you spend a few years with a team, there are two ways to look at it. You either become part of the furniture or you feel at home,” Hill, who became Williams champion 30 years ago, told a select group of reporters during a call on Friday. “When a driver is in a team, he can’t think of himself as being the primary concern of that team. They get a new driver and if that driver is better for them, then the loyalty and interest goes to the other driver.” “The problem with being a racing driver in our sport is that you’re not really part of the team. You’re part of the team while you’re there, but you still have to prove yourself against the other one. So you’re in a constant battle to cement your position.” Unless, as Hill explained, you have a Max Verstappen situation with Red Bull Racing. “(Max) is able to maintain that dominance in the team to the point where the team becomes him. That’s much, much more difficult in a team like Mercedes. And it’s difficult when you have a guy who has come up during the season like me with David Coultard,” recalled Hill. “In 1994 I was fighting Michael Schumacher for the championship and I let David Coultard come and go and take points from me or Nigel Mansell. “And I kept saying to the team: ‘How do I beat this? I’m the guy who’s going to stay for the rest of the season to fight Michael Schumacher for the championship, and you keep throwing in wild cards like Nigel Mansell and David Coultard who also have to race, but they’re only there for a short time. “It doesn’t seem like a strategically good move to me, but it’s very worrying.” The only way to deal with it? Prove you’re a better driver, Hill said. “If that person is getting attention because they’re doing great things and getting results, then the only answer to that is, well, you just have to do better than them. “They know the deal, but it might seem like they’ve betrayed you a bit if they’ve hired someone else who’s better,” laughed the 65-year-old. In what was shaping up to be a title battle involving two drivers from the same team for the second consecutive season, Hill tipped the 19-year-old Italian to come out on top. “I think Kimi is the favorite because he has the equipment. Mercedes has been the most consistent and has the points advantage. And I think he’s still learning. So George has a mountain to climb to get the better of him. I’m not saying he can’t do it, but from what I’ve seen, I think this guy is something else. So we’ll see,” Hill said. (Fans can watch the British GP exclusively on FanCode)