24 May 2024 , 05:50
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Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has offered Kimi Antonelli some advice on how he could be best prepared to beat him to a seat at Mercedes.
The Dutchman’s future with current employers Red Bull looks uncertain at best following a rollercoaster few months for the Austrian constructors. He has been linked with a move to Mercedes despite having four years left on his contract.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is keen to land Verstappen but a move could be complicated. That has forced him to look for alternatives, with 17-year-old Kimi Antonelli among the contenders.
Having broken through into F1 at young age himself, Verstappen was asked what the Italian needs to do to succeed. He claimed that he needs to find an understanding of how to overcome mistakes behind the wheel.
Speaking ahead of the Monaco GP, Verstappen said: “But yeah, just, you know, going through the good moments, the bad moments, how you come out of these things, difficult weekends, where it's just not working for you or whatever. Like, there's so much to learn.
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“But on the other hand, also, don't try to think about it too much. Just let it go. When you're talented – and you can see that with Kimi, he's very talented – I don't think you should be too worried, you know, just... make mistakes. I mean you have to make mistakes.
“Ideally, of course, you like to make those mistakes when you're not fighting for championships or whatever, so I also got lucky with that, you know, starting at Toro Rosso at the time, not many people are looking at you all the time, so you can make some silly mistakes here and there.
“But it's important to make them because even though you tell yourself all the time I cannot do this or I cannot do that, you will only adapt really if you make them and then move forward.”
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While Verstappen pointed to Antonelli’s understanding behind the wheel, he also urged the youngster to spend time developing relationships with people both at and away from the track. He added: “And yeah, just in general, growing up as a person as well, I guess, even outside the car, knowing what you want in your private life.
“And then it's just understanding the set-up of a racing car more and more over time. Of course cars evolve, but when you're with one particular team, at one point you know more or less what works or not.
“Being with the same kind of race engineers and people around you that fine tune the car for you, all these kind of things, the more you spend time with them, the more it comes to you. But again, don't try to think about it too much, just let it happen.
“When you're that young, just focus on trying to go as fast as you can, make your mistakes, you know, have good race results and just, yeah. Well, try not to think about it too much. Now you can explain all of this, but at the time you don't know that, right? So it's like, just ease into it. And then you have good people around you normally in the team that will coach you around this.”
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