Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes): “The Baku Grand Prix is already on Saturday – that’s an advantage”

Kimi Antonelli is chasing his third consecutive victory on the streets of Baku; following the World Championship races in Italy (Monza) and Spain (Madrid), he is now looking to strike again.

A run of victories is nothing new for the Bolognese driver: From China (the second World Championship round of the 2026 season) to Monaco (early June), the Mercedes teenager won five times in a row, laying the foundations for his (highly likely) 2026 World Championship title.

In 2025, Kimi finished fourth on the treacherous street circuit after starting from fourth on the grid; in 2024, as a Formula 2 driver, Antonelli stood third on the podium in the main race.

The championship leader sees no reason to change his approach, not even in Baku: “I always take it one race at a time and try to make the best of it.”

Kimi has plenty of opportunities to do so at a brisk pace, starting with the trio of Baku, Sepang and Singapore. However, in Baku everything is taking place a day earlier because next Sunday is a public holiday in Azerbaijan and must therefore remain race-free.

Topic of the week

Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring: track – hit or miss?

The people of Madrid had set their sights high for their city’s first Formula 1 World Championship race since 1981. But have the high expectations for the new Madring mixed-circuit track really been met?

Mathias Brunner

Read More

TV Program

Tomorrow

Baku: 1. Freies Training

FIA Formula One World Championship

24.09.2026 - 10:15

Antonelli at the Baku City Circuit: “When I set off from home, I kept saying to myself: ‘Why are we heading there already?’. But actually, having the Grand Prix on Saturday is an advantage with three races in a row, because that way we can set off for Malaysia a day earlier and get used to the time difference there more easily.”

“I can’t wait to drive on these three circuits and find out where we stand compared to our rivals. I’ve got a good feeling about Baku; we’re usually strong on slow corners, which will help us. But we always have to keep an eye on the others: Red Bull Racing will be bringing updates this weekend, which will help them. And then it’ll be interesting to see just how strong McLaren and Ferrari are.’

Speaking of Sepang in Malaysia – where the Bahrain Grand Prix is being rescheduled – Kimi remarks: “A great circuit; I’ve practised it on the simulator and can’t wait to explore it in the real car. The fact that I’ve never driven there before doesn’t worry me, because it’ll be new to most of us – only a few on the current starting grid have driven there when the circuit was still on the F1 calendar.”

Rain is part and parcel of Malaysia, but Kimi says: “To be honest, I’m hoping for rain. Because we’ve missed out on wet races in Miami, Canada and also at Zandvoort. And at circuits where it usually rains, such as Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone, we’ve had lovely weather. So perhaps in Malaysia we’ll finally see how these cars perform in the rain.”

Then it’s straight on to Singapore. Antonelli: “With such a packed schedule, organisation is everything. We always travel on as soon as possible after a race so we can spend enough time in the next country and get used to everything. I eat well, train consistently and try to adjust to any time difference as quickly as possible.”

His goal for the upcoming Baku weekend: “To pick up where I left off in Madrid.”