Kimi Antonelli spoke after his rookie season about his respect for Red Bull ace Max Verstappen.
With the 2025 F1 season now behind us, fans still can’t help but dissect the comeback that never was. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen nearly pulled off the impossible, but couldn’t get over the line.
Many fans point to the Qatar GP, where Lando Norris managed to win, after a scrutinized lack of defense from Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli allowed him to take the lead.
Kimi Antonelli speaks glowingly about ‘dad’ Max Verstappen
After their first season in Formula 1, rookies Kimi Antonelli, Gabriel Bortoleto, Ollie Bearman, and Isack Hadjar sat down to discuss their experience.
Kimi Antonelli was the first to give Max Verstappen his flowers, noting how supportive the four-time WDC winner was of all the rookies, not just himself. The newcomers all joked that he was the ‘dad’ for all of them.
Antonelli: “I think Max has been really supportive to all of the rookies”
Bortoleto: “How do they call him?”
Antonelli: “The dad of the rookies.”
Kimi Antonelli didn’t cost Max Verstappen the WDC
Many fans directed a lot of vitriol towards Kimi Antonelli for his mistake at the Qatar GP, suggesting that he intentionally let Lando Norris through to go on and win the race.
For anyone who watched the race in Doha, it was clear that Kimi was defending against Norris with a lot of effort before losing control in an unfortunate situation.
However, Max Verstappen was nothing but respectful and reassuring toward the young rookie, telling him after the Abu Dhabi GP that it wasn’t his fault.
The grace that Verstappen showed Antonelli was brilliant to see, as he made sure the Mercedes standout didn’t get too down on himself over the unfortunate set of circumstances.
Read More: Max Verstappen’s 2026 testing comments leave Red Bull fans with low expectations
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