Kimi Antonelli from P7 to P3: “I never would have dreamed of that!”

The traditional Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring: Kimi Antonelli finished the thrilling race in third place, behind Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. This is the Italian’s 12th Formula 1 podium finish (equalling Stefan Johansson and Robert Kubica), allowing the teenager to extend his lead in the World Championship.

What did Kimi say? “I have to try and make the most of my opportunities in every race.” Finishing third at the Hungaroring after starting from seventh on the grid deserves a round of applause. The Bolognese driver gave it his all and had to sit down on the track for a moment after the race.

Kimi reflects on his Hungarian Grand Prix: “That was a really tough race. Everyone knows how difficult overtaking is here, so we had to come up with something in terms of race strategy.”

“Actually, I wanted to drive completely differently. I wanted to finish on just one stop. But the team were against it. They told me that wasn’t feasible because of the high tyre wear.”

“Then came the virtual safety car phase, and as we knew we had to do something different to make up places, I stayed on the track whilst both Ferraris pitted.”

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“That’s how I gained two places and now had to hope I could defend them. For a while, I even thought I might be able to take second place off Max. But that didn’t work out.”

“All in all, I can be satisfied: I fought my way up from P7 to third place, and I’ve even extended my lead in the World Championship. Before the season, I would never have dreamed of something like this! I couldn’t have hoped for a better way to head into the summer break. I managed to limit the damage today after finishing seventh in practice.”

“My tactics after the summer break will be the same – make the most of every race, consistently finish in the top positions, and not think about the World Championship, but always just focus on the race weekend at hand.”