Jenson Button: “Antonelli must be congratulated for dealing with the pressure as he has done at only 20 years old. I take my hat off and we have to give Alonso and Stroll the weapons to catch up”
Kimi Antonelli has managed to generate great admiration for what he has achieved in 2026. In just two seasons in F1, the Italian has become the youngest champion in the history of the Great Circus with just 20 years and 68 days. It is a brutal milestone that elevates him to the Olympus of motorsports and sealed it with a fantastic podium in Mexico accompanied by Hamilton and Verstappen. It was the ideal scenario.
The level of the Bologna player surprised everyone and everyone and other world champions have had magnificent words about what Antonelli has done. One of the last to evaluate Antonelli’s successes was Jenson Button, 2009 champion with BrawnGP and current Aston Martin ambassador.
“Winning the World Championship in Brazil is, without a doubt, the highlight of my career, and a huge congratulations must go to Kimi Antonelli for winning his first title in the last race in Mexico, making him the youngest champion of all time. In the end, Kimi pulled it off with no problems, but I’m sure it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. It never is.” said the Briton on the official Aston Martin website.
“Deal with that pressure —leading the championship for so long—is not an easy task. AND Doing it at only 20 years old is truly extraordinary.; I have to say that I take my hat off to him and his team. —some of those who are in Brackley were already there in my time, when the team was called Brawn, and it is incredible to see that they still want to succeed—. They have set the bar very high in this new era of F1 and Now it is our turn to give Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso the necessary tools so that we can reach them and then raise the bar even higher.
His memory of 2009
Button won his only title at Interlagos, where the Brazilian GP is held, 17 years ago. Looking back, he remembers that day fondly, although he admitted that it was not easy to keep his emotions under control during the hours. Both before and after.
“A championship makes you feel something different. There is a huge feeling of relief because you have finally achieved something you have been fighting for for so long. Chen I got out of the car in Brazil, I saw Mikey “Muscles” Collier, my physical therapist, and then my father. He gave me a huge hug and wouldn’t let go of me even remotely. because I was crying my eyes out. Then I entered the box and saw the team. There was champagne everywhere. “It was an incredible moment.”
“I went back to the hotel, got ready and spent an hour or so celebrating with the team, but then I went back to my room alone and sat on the bed for a couple of hours, just taking it all in. I thought about my entire career, going back to when I was eight years old. You think about everything you have sacrificed along the way, about all those weekends when you didn’t see your friends, about the good times and the bad times, and about all the effort behind it. to achieve that single objective,” he expressed in conclusion.
