Kimi Antonelli no longer shy, arrogant at times, but he needs to be like this

Antonelli was the new kid on the Formula 1 block in 2025, shy, hesitant, and under the pressure of the hype that came along with his early promotion into the top flight.

Mistakes happened, but a key takeaway from Antonelli's rookie season was that talent was in abundance and that it was a matter of time before results were delivered.

And indeed that was the case, as Antonelli has had a flying start to his second season in F1, winning four of five races, leading the Championship, and beating his more experienced teammate and Mercedes team leader, George Russell.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, former F1 driver Riccardo Patrese commented on the balance of powers between the Mercedes drivers.

"The road to go on to the end is very long," he said. "So, for George, there is nothing dramatic, but for sure he has to keep in his mind now that he has really strong opposition in Kimi, who, now that he has got everything on focus, can be a very strong opponent and rival for the championship.

"I am sure it is a bit of a surprise for George that Kimi has started the season so well with four consecutive wins. I don't know how he can handle this in his head," the winner of the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix maintained.

However, he warned that reliability issues that have been picking on Russell so far may soon turn to the other side of the Mercedes garage. He added: "I can understand his frustration, but as they have the same engine program, which is very new, the same problem can happen to Kimi maybe in the next Grand Prix.

"There are many Grand Prix to go to the end of the season, and I think reliability is not super strong at the moment.

"George is frustrated, but you cannot give up after only five races, yeah, and with up to 19 to go. I think it is very open," claimed Patrese.

Turning his attention towards his compatriot, Patrese praised Antonelli for the development he has shown.

"It's incredible what Kimi is achieving at the moment," he said. "Last year, there was that he had a lot of criticism because he was making mistakes. But he was settling into F1, and that is a world it takes time to understand.

"I said last year, he's a guy who, of course he has to learn. But I know that he's very quick to learn things because I saw him in the past in other categories. And he needed at least one season to understand things of Formula 1.

"I said last season that 2026 could be his year. And it has proven to be the case. At the end of last year, he was putting in some very good performances.

"I knew he could be strong, and he also has the benefit of the best car on the grid. So, I knew that he could be at this level. But probably nobody expected him to win four Grand Prix in a row, and he's getting stronger and stronger."

Patrese also claimed that Antonelli is starting to show the mentality of champions. He went on: "He is no longer shy, and he is now even arrogant at times. But you need to be like this.

"[Max] Verstappen is like this. In the past, people like [Michael] Schumacher, [Ayrton] Senna, all the era drivers, were in this league and were also a little bit arrogant.

"We will have to see what happens with regard to the reliability of the car and also what happens to the other contenders. They are still developing their cars; McLaren did a big jump ahead, especially in Miami, where [Lando] Norris looked very strong at the end.

"But if I had to make a bet, personally, I would bet on Kimi," Patrese concluded.