Jenson Button believes that if Kimi Antonelli can fix his ongoing problem with F1 race starts, the Mercedes driver can become “unstoppable.”
So far in 2026, from the six standing starts, including the two Sprints, Antonelli has lost positions each time and dropped from a front-row slot into the midfield on the opening lap.
Last time out in Miami, he slipped from pole position to third at Turn 1 before Max Verstappen’s spin promoted him back to second, behind Charles Leclerc.
Ultimately, the Italian won in Florida to record his third straight grand prix win, the first driver ever to record his first three wins from his first three poles successively, and open up a 20-point lead in the championship over team-mate George Russell.
Mercedes took responsibility for Antonelli’s bad start in the Sprint on Saturday by saying he had been given incorrect settings, which were partially fixed for the grand prix launch, but 2009 F1 champion Button believes that if the Italian can rectify his issues permanently, he could become “unstoppable.”
“[He’s] really impressive,” Button began to Sky Sports News.
“I think the first and second wins, there was a little bit of luck involved, which we all need as racing drivers, but he capitalised on that and showed his pace, and the last race in Miami was really impressive.
“He was on the back foot a little bit with being Lando Norris at the start of the race, but came through, and his pace at the end of the race was extremely impressive.
“It hink think there’s a lot of improvement that can be made with his races. He is struggling at the start, and he is losing places every race.
“When he gets that right, he seems like he’ll be unstoppable.”
