Kimi Antonelli offers first verdict on early Max Verstappen interactions

Kimi Antonelli has spoken for the first time about his first meetings with Max Verstappen.

The reigning F1 champion will have a new rival on the 2025 grid when Antonelli arrives for a much-vaunted rookie campaign.

Teenager Antonelli is replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

Antonelli was asked if rival drivers could be friends.

“Off the track yes,” he was quoted by Gazzetta.

“But on the track you can't look at anyone, no one does you any favours and you can't have any.

“There you are racing only for yourself.”

Antonelli spoke positively about Verstappen: "I've spoken to him a few times and he's a great person, I like him a lot.

“We've also raced against him in the simulator and he follows the minor categories a lot.

“On the track he's seen as very rigid, but off it he's very easy going, normal."

Verstappen was once the highly-touted teen starlet arriving on the Formula 1 grid.

Next year, Antonelli will be joined by Ollie Bearman while Jack Doohan and Liam Lawson also represent young, talented options.

Antonelli names F1 hero

Antonelli was reminded that reaching F1 by the age of 18 is no small feat.

“I haven't realised it yet, maybe I will do it in Melbourne,” he said.

“It will be very exciting, but at the moment I'm just thinking about working on myself.

“How? You try not to think about anything other than what you have to do, you concentrate on the start and try to visualise the various situations.

“There will be butterflies in your stomach but I try to concentrate on what to do."

Antonelli named Ayrton Senna as his F1 hero.

“I researched a lot about him,” he said.

“I understood that he was not only a great driver, but a great [person].

“I like to think I resemble him in that I would learn a lot.

"As a child I supported Sebastian Vettel.”