19-year-old NASCAR Cup driver Connor Zilisch said he could always tell that Kimi Antonelli would get into Formula 1 after karting together.
The two grew up karting together when the American driver would spend his summers in Europe to gain experience other forms of racing. During an appearance on the Gypsy Tales podcast, the Trackhouse Racing driver explained that Antonelli was “one of the best drivers” he had raced against.
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“I spent a lot of time in Europe. Those were some of the coolest moments of my life. I went to Europe as an 11, 12, 13, 14-year-old. I spent a couple of summers over there when I was not in school. I would go over there for three months at a time, racing against guys like Kimi Antonelli.
“I spent three or four years racing against him. I always knew he was going to make it to F1. I always knew. He’s one of the best drivers, top three drivers I’ve ever raced against, just talent-wise. So I always knew he was one of the guys that was going to make it and then guys like Arvid Lindblad, he’s going to race for VCARB.
“It’s crazy to see that they’ve gone on to race in F1 and that kind of thing. But karting is such a cool sport. I didn’t realise it at the time, but those days and months that I spent in Europe, without my parents, growing up, I would ride my bike to dinner alone. Those were the coolest days of my life, and I didn’t realise it at the time, how cool it was.
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“The memories that I have of it, looking back at it, I grew up and learned so much as a kid and matured. I definitely look back on those days as some of the coolest days I’ll ever have.”
Connor Zilisch, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Connor Zilisch, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Asked to elaborate on what he saw in Antonelli, who is about to enter his second F1 season with Mercedes, Zilisch added: “He’s the guy that no matter what his set-up is, no matter what the track is, no matter what the conditions are, there’s guys who just always persevere and are always at the front.
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“And he was one of those guys that no matter what the situation was, if it was practice or if it was a heat race or, whatever it was, he was always at the front. He could just maximise his kart.
“And it’s funny, I have a story. He came to race in America. He did a race at Miami, and one of my best friends was team-mates with him, and him and his dad thought that it was all his motor. And so he was team-mates with Kimi, and Kimi switched engines with him because the kid was like ‘Man it’s got to be his engine.’
“So Kimi literally switched motors with this kid. Kimi went faster and he slowed down, and that was just one of the things where it’s a situation of you don’t realise how much of a difference he’s actually making until you do something like that.
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“You just assume that it’s the equipment and for him to be like, ‘OK, let’s switch then.’ And they switch, and Kimi goes faster. That’s something that I’ve always pointed to when I’ve thought about Kimi. He makes the most of everything he gets in.”
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