Jose Mourinho praises "incredible" Kimi Antonelli and Fernando Alonso

Legendary football manager Jose Mourinho has described Kimi Antonelli's Formula 1 title pursuit as "incredible" while also heaping praise on veteran Fernando Alonso.

Serial winner and four-time holder of the world's best club coach award, Mourinho is also no stranger to F1. Attending the British Grand Prix last year, he was even asked to hand the pole position award to Max Verstappen.

As the F1 paddock closed for the evening on Saturday, Mourinho's Real Madrid team set about taking apart Rayo Vallecano in a 4-1 demolition in La Liga.

With the latest round of the F1 season also taking place in Madrid this weekend, 'The Special One' was asked for his thoughts on the current campaign, and he was at no loss on where to start, "What [Kimi Antonelli] is doing with Mercedes is incredible; it's an absolutely incredible thing."

Ahead of the Madrid race, Antonelli holds a 66-point lead in the standings over team-mate George Russell, but after achieving a second-place grid slot compared to Russell's sixth place, the Italian holds a strong hand to extend this margin.

One throughline of the current weekend has been the apparent involvement of FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem in the future of Alonso. 

The veteran driver is yet to commit his future to either Aston Martin or the championship itself, with the FIA boss revealing that he has spoken to Alonso to see what can be done to convince the Spaniard to stay.

 Steering clear of the specific situation, Mourinho said of Alonso: "But without having a car to win, and practically without having a car for points, I'm also friends with Fernando [Alonso]. I really like Fernando's personality. 

"I really like that he's a guy who is always among the best, even if they give him a car that isn't good. 

"But I really like the sport as a sport."

Cautious not to see invited to the paddock reduce, Mourinho added: "I have to be careful because all of them are very nice to me. They all invite me here and there."