Following the victory in China, Peter Bonnington praised Kimi Antonelli and his talent, comparing him to Schumacher and Hamilton
A historic victory. Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s triumph in Shanghai yesterday will forever remain in the annals of F1 history, and naturally, in the history of Italian motorsport.
The 19-year-old from Bologna has not only brought the Italian tricolor back to the top step of the podium, but at the same time, he has closed the gap to his teammate George Russell, the Championship leader who now holds a mere four-point advantage.
The triumph of AKA (acronym for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, ed.) was celebrated by his race engineer, Peter Bonnington—affectionately known as Bono—who certainly knows a thing or two about talent (having worked with both Schumacher and Hamilton).
Bono’s Words: “He Has That Extra Tenth…”
At the end of a masterful race, led like a true champion (complete with the fastest lap and a Saturday pole position), Kimi received high praise from Peter Bonnington:
“I wasn’t exactly in tears, but I was relieved, I was truly relieved. He gave me quite a scare with that lock-up; it was the third-to-last lap. I thought: ‘Come on, really? Please…’. But yes, it was beautiful”. “.
Alongside the Mercedes duo, Silver Arrows legend Lewis Hamilton also stepped onto the third rung of the Shanghai podium. This was met with great joy by his former race engineer: ” This podium was pretty special. I can’t complain. Seeing Lewis up there with Kimi… It was an incredible moment. It’s one of those I will cherish fondly “.
Hence, the comparison between the two: “Working with Kimi is completely different compared to Lewis. It’s like night and day. With Lewis, I knew what he was thinking. I knew he didn’t need me to tell him certain things. With Kimi, however, in the beginning, it was more a case of: ‘I don’t know what he doesn’t know”.
Finally, the incredible praise and the comparison with Schumacher and Lewis: “Years ago, I read a book about the 10,000-hour rule, and I started believing in it heavily: I thought that with enough practice, anyone could become pretty good. But then you meet people like Michael Schumacher, like Lewis… and you realize that no, actually, there is an extra step“.
“That extra tenth or two of a second. And Kimi has that. He possesses that extra tenth or two.” “.
Photos: Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
