Ecclestone believes in Verstappen’s comeback: “The 2026 champion will be one between him and Antonelli”

Antonelli ahead of everyone The start to the season that Mercedes is experiencing is quite positive, with four victories achieved by the Brackley team in the first four races. After Russell’s success in the inaugural GP in Melbourne, in Shanghai Andrea Kimi Antonelli experienced the joy of his first success in F1, and then repeated it in Japan and Miami. Three poles and three consecutive successes which pushed the young driver from Bologna to the top of the world championship standings, with a 20 point advantage over his teammate. Watch out for Verstappen General performances which, according to former Formula 1 patron Bernie Ecclestone, demonstrated his superiority at Mercedes for the potential conquest of the world title. However, from here on out, the road will not be at all easy for Antonelli, again according to the judgment of the 95-year-old Briton. Will Russell’s possible return hinder the 19-year-old from Bologna in the next races? No. The most serious threat, in fact, would be that of Max Verstappen. While waiting for the Canadian GP, ​​the Dutchman from Red Bull is 74 points behind, has not yet achieved a podium and has not spared all his disappointment for the results obtained so far. But what struck Ecclestone was the last GP in Miami: in addition to a better performance in qualifying compared to previous weekends, with the gap from the poleman down to a tenth of a second, the spin that occurred at the start of the race in Miami compromised a potential podium for the four world champion, who with an early pit stop managed to get 5th place after 50 laps on hard tyres. Crisis overcome In an interview with the Swiss newspaper Blick, Ecclestone ‘invited’ Antonelli to pay attention to Verstappen’s comeback: “Antonelli or Verstappen will be the world champions – he declared – Red Bull has evidently overcome the crisis period. Max has found his best form again, and he is dangerous”.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-14 16:00:00