‘No stopping him’: F1 superstars surrender to ‘scarily good’ teen phenom

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has effectively conceded the 2026 Formula 1 championship, admitting his former team Mercedes and their 19-year-old sensation Kimi Antonelli are simply too far ahead to be caught.

Calling the title race with nine rounds still on the calendar is a massive concession from one of the sport’s most successful drivers.

But Antonelli’s near-perfect rise to dominance is already entering F1 folklore.

Building on his rookie campaign last year, the Italian teenager has seemingly mastered the art of making his own luck, capitalising on every opportunity handed to him.

At times this season, Ferrari’s Hamilton has been the young gun’s most persistent challenger.

Following the British Grand Prix just two months ago, the deficit was a manageable 32 points.

Fast-forward to the Madrid Grand Prix, and that gap had ballooned to 76 points.

After Hamilton’s weekend in Spain went from bad to worse; suffering a complete brake failure that forced him into retirement on lap six, the Ferrari driver is now 101 points adrift of the championship lead.

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“There’s no stopping him and Mercedes this year,” Hamilton said.

“I think they’ve done a phenomenal job and they deserve it.”

He isn’t the only heavy hitter acknowledging the changing of the guard.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris heaped praise on the teenager in the post-race press conference, with reigning champion Norris admitting the assumed heir to the F1 throne has been doing a “scarily good job” in 2026.

Madrid proved that even on days when luck trumps raw pace, Antonelli is always in the right place at the right time to cash in.

It leaves him in a commanding position to mathematically clinch the world championship as early as the Singapore Grand Prix.

While Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff takes the plaudits for backing his teenage prodigy, a very different reality is playing out at the other end of the grid.

Aston Martin is languishing in 10th in the constructors’ standings, sparking debate over 45-year-old veteran Fernando Alonso’s future with the team. With Alonso’s contract expiring at the end of the season, Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle admitted he would change the driver line-up in a heartbeat.

“I love it in F1 at the moment. You’ve got now a 20-year-old Kimi Antonelli, and you can measure him against the greats like Fernando Alonso...Lewis Hamilton in their 40s, and it’s brilliant to have that range across the grid,” Brundle said.

“I can’t help but think if I was running Aston Martin – and this will go down really well – they are rebuilding that team. They’re building for the future.

“Adrian Newey is at the drawing board relentlessly. I’d be inclined to get a couple of mid 25-year-olds and rebuild the driving line-up as well.”

Brundle’s brutal assessment comes as FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem appears desperate to keep the two-time world champion on the grid, reportedly willing to invoke ADUO powers for Honda if necessary.

“There is no way we can allow Fernando Alonso, a great champion, to leave just because of the circumstances,” Sulayem said.

“Please tell me what you want, because you are the driver. Come and tell me what you want us to do to improve these results.”

As the F1 circus turns its attention to the notoriously unpredictable Baku City Circuit, a track that has crowned seven different winners in nine races, there are lingering headaches down at McLaren regarding Australian hopeful Oscar Piastri. .

McLaren management has issued a clear directive for the Aussie to get more comfortable in the 2026 machinery, noting that his tendency to overthink is currently costing lap time.

“We need to execute better, and then at the same time we need to get more in tune between Oscar and the MCL40 because still Oscar is driving and thinking,” said team principal Andrea Stella.

“And when you drive and think, things get slowed down. Like you are slower as a driver in terms of deciding what to do, and ultimately you are slower in terms of lap times.

“So I think the agenda is very clear as to what we have to improve and I expect, like I always say, that we will get on top of that and we will see a stronger Oscar in the final part [of the year].”

Formula 1 continues next weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.