Mathias Lauda: “Ferrari often goes its own way – which makes no sense”

As part of the live TV programme ‘Sport und Talk aus dem Hangar-7’ on ServusTV in Salzburg, a high-profile panel of motorsport experts, including Mathias Lauda, Hans-Joachim Stuck and motorsport journalist and SPEEDWEEK.com contributor Gerhard Kuntschik to discuss the Mexican Grand Prix. Three topics dominated the discussion: World Champion Kimi Antonelli, Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen and the rift at Ferrari.

Mathias Lauda, son of racing legend Niki Lauda, points out: “Kimi became world champion with four races to go. Apart from in Australia – where he made a small mistake – he really had his team-mate under control after that. His team-mate made far more mistakes!”

Lauda realises, however: “It wasn’t easy for him in Formula 2 either; he only had one win there. In Formula 4, though, he won everything. There are few drivers who then make the leap to a top Formula 1 team. He learnt a lot in his first year and was able to put it into practice very well in his second. It’s also fair to say that Kimi owes a great deal to Toto. A single karting season costs a lot of money, and then all the way up to Formula 2 – that costs millions.”

Lauda also spoke about ‘Mexico-Max’ Verstappen: “Max certainly didn’t have the best car on the grid. But whenever it really matters, he’s there. Yesterday, Ferrari were definitely the strongest package. Max still manages to pull it off time and again, even with moves like that at the start. There was also a lot of bad luck at Zandvoort. It was damp and Max is very brave – he keeps his foot on the throttle longer than other drivers – so things like that can happen.”

On the subject of Ferrari, however, Mathias Lauda is crystal clear: “They often make small mistakes! They often go their own way, which makes no sense at all. Whenever things are going well, they make mistakes like that.”

Topic of the week

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.

Mathias Brunner

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