Kimi Antonelli received strong recognition from Nico Rosberg for his career before Formula 1. The former driver and 2016 world champion placed the Italian among the three greatest drivers who have ever competed in Karting.
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Antonelli spent several years in Karting before starting his rapid rise through single-seaters. In 2019, the current Mercedes driver competed for Rosberg’s team in Karting and won several championships, adding new trophies to the collection built in previous seasons.
Rosberg stated that the performance shown by the Italian at that time already placed him at an exceptional level: “I had him on my Kart team at the time, and he was one of the greatest drivers ever seen in Karting,” the German told Sky F1.
Next, Rosberg compared Antonelli’s talent to some of the biggest names in motorsport history: “All the greatest of all time did very well in Karting, (Ayrton) Senna, (Lewis) Hamilton, (Max) Verstappen. Kimi was among the top three of all time in Karting, so his talent is generational,” he added.
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The former driver also highlighted Antonelli’s performance in his second season in Formula 1. The Italian has eight wins this year and holds an 81-point lead, approaching the first title of his F1 career.
For Rosberg, the characteristics of the 2026 cars also helped Antonelli demonstrate his potential more quickly. According to him, this year’s single-seaters became a bit easier to drive compared to previous cars, which were more extreme and harder to handle.
“Kimi would have gotten there eventually anyway. It’s mainly his generational talent, and I think the regulations helped a bit, giving him the chance to be so extremely dominant. It’s simply incredible how he is driving, the speed he has day after day. He is fast all the time,” Rosberg concluded.
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