F1 champion Kimi Antonelli: These are the rivals he has his sights set on at Interlagos

Kimi Antonelli completed more than 60 laps of the Interlagos circuit during Friday’s practice session. The Mercedes star, who just a few days earlier in Mexico had been crowned the youngest Formula 1 champion in the sport’s history, ended up being the fastest of the day. With his best time of 1:10.763, he was significantly faster than his rivals: Lando Norris was just under two-tenths of a second off the day’s fastest time, whilst Max Verstappen was 0.259 seconds behind the benchmark set by the Mercedes driver.

“It wasn’t a bad day,” Antonelli summed up in good spirits. “I felt comfortable in the car, both on a single lap and in race set-up. Of course, there’s still some work to be done, but I feel good so far and I’m already looking forward to qualifying tomorrow,” he added.

Looking ahead to qualifying, the 20-year-old replied confidently when asked: “I think we have a good chance of taking pole in qualifying.” At the same time, however, he also warned: “That said, the gaps aren’t big; everyone is very close together. McLaren are strong, and Red Bull Racing have also shown themselves to be in fine form. So we’ll have to give it our all to be ready.”

“We’ll also have to see what the weather does,” explained Antonelli, given the forecast predicting thunderstorms for qualifying and rain for race day on Sunday. “But I’m really looking forward to the battle for the fastest times tomorrow,” he added in the same breath.

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World Champion Kimi Antonelli: record-breaker, heart-breaker, the Tifosi’s dream

With his third-place finish at the Mexican Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli has become the youngest of the 36 Formula 1 world champions to date. The 20-year-old Italian is on a record-breaking run. The Tifosi are dreaming of Antonelli in a Ferrari.

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