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• Antonelli relishing 'big seat' opportunity left by Hamilton at Mercedes

  Kimi Antonelli is relishing the opportunity of filling the "big seat" left by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2025 Formula One season. 

  Antontelli was officially confirmed as Hamilton's successor in August and will race alongside George Russell next year for the German-based team. 

  In obtaining a seat on the grid for the upcoming season, the 18-year-old will be the first Italian driver in the competition since Antonio Giovinazzi raced for Alfa Romeo in 2021. 

  Antonelli sits sixth in the drivers' championship standings in Formula Two, winning at Silverstone and the Hungaroring in July for Prema Racing. 

  He then made his debut in FP1 at the Italian Grand Prix for Mercedes, and after setting the fastest time on his first lap, crashed out on his second time around the Monza track. 

  That raised questions about Mercedes' decision to replace the experience of Hamilton with the youth of Antonelli, though the latter is focused on enjoying the ride in F1. 

  "Well, for sure, I'm taking a big seat," Antonelli told Stats Perform at Festival dello Sport in Trento, Italy. 

  "Obviously, I don't feel like I'm replacing him because he's been such a big figure, and he still is a big figure in the sport.

  "So yeah, of course, it's an important seat, the one I'm taking, but I just see that I will take a Mercedes seat for next year, and I'm just going to enjoy the ride."

  Throughout his career, Antonelli has been supported by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who offered some guidance to the teenager following a tough qualifying session at Silverstone – a weekend in which he went on to take his debut victory in F2.

  "Well, I feel I'm very lucky to be with him. I will consider him like a second father for me," Antonelli added.

  "He's always been there in the difficult moments and, of course, in the great moments.

  "He's such a great supporter, and I'm really happy because next year, of course, is going to be a big year for me.

  "I have a lot of things to learn and to have his support, but also the support of the whole team is going to be really important, and I'm really looking forward to that."

  Antonelli will line up alongside Russell, who came through the ranks in F2 before joining Williams in 2019, and the youngster believes he can learn a lot from his soon-to-be team-mate.

  "I haven't talked much with him because, obviously, he's very busy, he has a really tight schedule even during weekends, so I don't really want to bother him as well, but he's a really good driver, really fast, and I'm happy to have him next year because I can learn a lot from him," Antonelli said.

  "I can learn especially on race pace because he has had good races as well, he's really good at managing the tyres, he also has speed and quality, so he's a pretty complete driver.

  "It's good because next year I can learn a lot from him, and yeah, he just gave me a few pieces of advice but not much because, as I said before, he's pretty busy, and I don't really want to bother him."

• Shifting gears: Jamaican sensation Alex Powell gains traction in transition from karting to Formula 4
  Jamaica’s rising motorsport star, Alex Powell, continued his thrilling ascent through the racing ranks, as he recently captured his first victory in Formula 4 at the European 4 Championships in Monza, Italy.

   

  For the American-born driver, who has repeatedly demonstrated his immense potential on the karting circuits, the transition to Formula 4 has been both a learning curve and a major step up, but it’s one he’s fully embracing.

   

  Powell, 17, has been in the spotlight for some time, with his karting career marked by consistent performances that hinted at future greatness. Now, with his first Formula 4 win under his belt, Powell is starting to make waves in the highly competitive single-seater category, where precision, skill, and perseverance are critical. 

   

  Reflecting on this new chapter in his career, which started just over six weekends ago, Powell was candid about the challenges and triumphs of competing at a higher level.

   

  "Obviously, life in F4 is a lot different from life in karting. Karting was a very familiar atmosphere and a very familiar culture for so many years of my life. So, you know, after a while, it became more of a routine as opposed to learning something new. Although it was always moving into new categories, into higher categories; it was pretty much the same principle as opposed to now in F4 and generally single seaters, it's a very different approach, not only to the race weekend but also to everyday life," Powell told SportsMax.TV in a recent interview from his base in Italy.

   

  "Because you really have to take the initiative to know that you're now becoming a professional athlete. So essentially, you need to do things that a professional athlete would do, and it's a big switch, or it was, at least for me, to adapt from the karting sort of mentality to the new car mentality. That everyday life sort of difference took a while to get used to, but now it's obviously more natural to me...it's coming more naturally, and it's all positive now," the Mercedes AMG Petronas prodigy added.

   

  The jump from karting to Formula 4 is one that requires more than just talent. Powell has had to invest significant time in learning the technical intricacies of his car and how to communicate effectively with his engineers. The shift also demands a new level of fitness and mental focus. 

   

  "It's been a successful season at times, but also a very tough one at other times. I guess it just shows that at the end of the day, it's still motorsports, and it still gives you the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. So, yeah, adapting to the new car and to the new feel took a lot of hard work as well. Of course, knowing that you're going from one discipline of racing pretty much to a completely different one, it really was a lot of hard work to really understand it's still coming to me. I still have a few things to learn , especially during the race as well. So it's still all part of the learning process that I'm going through at the moment," Powell shared.

   

  The recent win for Powell was a breakthrough accomplishment that has only heightened his hunger for more.

   

   

  "Winning my first race was an amazing feeling because we finished on the podium multiple times, finishing second and third. So, it's something you work so hard for, and when it finally comes together, it’s almost unreal. But at the same time, it's a huge motivation going forward," Powell, whose father John Powell is a former rally driver, declared.

   

  "It shows that I can compete with the best, but there’s always more work to be done. Every race is a learning experience, and I want to keep building on this success, as it gives you that extra push to keep improving,” he noted.

   

  Behind Powell’s success is a relentless drive and dedication that have been his trademarks since his karting days. His routine, as it was then, includes long hours spent working closely with his team on data analysis, and staying disciplined with his physical training.

   

  “To be competitive in Formula 4, you need more than just raw talent. It’s about how much effort you’re willing to put in. There are no shortcuts. So I’m always trying to find that extra bit of performance, whether it’s improving my lap times or understanding the car better. It’s a continuous process of growth,” he stated.

   

  Despite the pressures of competing at such a high level, Powell remains grounded, thanks in part to the support of his family and fans. In fact, he has given very little thought about his future prospects, opting instead to focus on immediate challenges.

   

  "I'm not looking very far in the future solely because I find that it's common for the concentration to drift off a little bit if you find yourself thinking too much into the future. For me, at this current point in time, it's just focusing on what's coming up next as well as to put in the work, both mentally and physically," he affirmed. 

   

  "I think if I'm able to do that and apply the things that I want to apply and prepare well for every weekend, then the results will follow. But for me, what's most important is just to make sure that I'm really present, not results driven, more performance, and really looking on how I can improve myself in every area," Powell, a cousin to 100m sub-10 king Asafa Powell, ended.

   

   

   

   
• FIA wrong to punish Verstappen for swearing, says Steiner

  Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has said the FIA was wrong to punish Formula One world champion Max Verstappen for swearing. 

  The Red Bull driver, who won his third world championship title last year, was asked to do community service by the motorsport’s governing body for swearing in a news conference during last month’s Singapore Grand Prix.

  Verstappen then protested against the punishment by giving short answers during an official news conference and termed the penalty "ridiculous", going on to say that such decisions could speed up his exit from the sport. 

  Now, the former Haas boss has weighed in, saying that the FIA should not have “made a big story out of it.”

  “Max didn't swear at anybody. He used the f-word about his car. So nobody got offended by it, in my opinion,” said Steiner, who departed Haas at the start of the year. 

  "The best way [to handle it] would have been not to make a big story of it. Sit down with the drivers, they have a meeting every weekend, and say: 'Hey, guys, can you tone it down a little bit? We are the FIA, we don't really like this.' 

  "But don't say: 'If you do, you get a fine, a penalty, whatever.' Because you know these guys, they've got an ego as well. And they say: 'I don't want to do that.' And then what do you create? All this controversy - for nothing."