Mathias Lauda on Max Verstappen: “When it counts, he’s there”

The ‘Sport und Talk aus dem Hangar-7’ programme on ServusTV featured a star-studded panel of motorsport experts, including ServusTV’s F1 expert Mathias Lauda, former F1 driver Hans-Joachim Stuck, and motorsport journalist and SPEEDWEEK.com writer Gerhard Kuntschik. The main topic was the first world championship title won by Mercedes’ star driver Kimi Antonelli. With a third-place finish in Mexico at the weekend, following a strong season, the young Italian was crowned the youngest world champion in the history of the series. But the impressive performance of race winner Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) and the situation at Ferrari were also discussed.

Mathias Lauda, son of Formula 1 legend Niki Lauda: “Kimi became world champion with four races to go. Apart from in Australia, where he made a small mistake – after that, he really had his team-mate under control. His team-mate made far more mistakes!” George Russell won in Melbourne and is currently fourth in the World Championship.

However, ServusTV expert Lauda told Antonelli: “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 year. It’s also fair to say that Kimi owes a great deal to Toto. A single karting season costs a great deal of money, and then all the way up to Formula 2 – that costs millions.” He is referring to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who discovered Antonelli when he was eleven, has supported him ever since, and then brought him into Formula 1 in 2025.

Max Verstappen impressed in Mexico

For Lauda, Mexico winner Max Verstappen was also a talking point: “Max certainly didn’t have the best car on the grid. But whenever it really matters, he’s there. On Sunday, Ferrari were certainly the strongest package. Max still manages to pull it off time and again, even with manoeuvres like that at the start.” He was referring to the situation at Turn 1, where the Ferraris got tangled up and Verstappen slipped through.

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 these little mistakes.”

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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