Kimi Antonelli: How the Mercedes driver’s popularity in Italy grew during his lead in the F1 title race | F1 News

Kimi Antonelli is not only adjusting to being a Formula 1 title contender, but leading Italy’s motorsport-mad nation into a summer of sport.

The 19-year-old defied pre-season expectations to establish a 20-point lead over his Mercedes team-mate George Russell at the top of the Drivers’ Championship by completing four of the 22 rounds.

Antonelli claimed his third win in Miami last time out despite Mercedes – unlike their rivals – withholding their first major upgrade package of the season for the next round in Canada, suggesting the Silver Arrows are fit to stay at the front of the field all year.

Russell was considered the clear favorite to win the title for Mercedes, but after winning the season-opener in Australia, the 28-year-old Brit has been largely outclassed by his far less experienced team-mate.

After Antonelli claimed the first two wins of his career in China and Japan, an enforced five-week gap – due to race cancellations in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia – left plenty of time to build hype, but perhaps the best performance of his young career in Miami took the teenager to another level.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has already expressed concern over his belief that Italy’s absence from this summer’s World Cup will put a stronger spotlight on Antonelli, along with tennis world number one Janic Sinar, who will try to defend his Wimbledon title in July.

“The big problem is the Italian public,” Wolff said after Antonelli’s victory in Miami. “Now that they’re not eligible for football, it’s all about Sinner and Antonelli. Both are superstars. And that’s something we need to hold on to.

“There are so many requests for his time, from the media, from sponsors. Now it’s up to us to keep the handbrake on. The risk is that he’s being taken too fast.”

Following Wolff’s comment, Sky Sports F1 Spoke to Italian racing driver Vicky Piria, who closely watched Antonelli’s rise as a pundit Sky Sport ItaliaTo find out just how high excitement levels are in Italy ahead of an intense summer of action.

How did Italy react to Antonelli’s three wins?

Call: It’s gone wild! For Italians in the industry, we can see it coming. Even among the tough moments last year, there was a lot of good to take in So, I honestly saw it coming, but I didn’t see it coming this early in the championship

It’s a nice shock for those who aren’t into F1 that much and are just getting to know Kimi, who was introduced to everyone as this little boy who dropped out of school a year ago and is trying to make his way in the world.

Obviously, he has a lot of talent, because otherwise, Toto Wolff wouldn’t have signed him when he was 12 years old. But I don’t think anyone saw that much coming.

It’s been great, it’s been great, and he’s really loved by the younger generation, but also, by the older generation, who are old enough to be his parents or even grandparents!

Is he overtaking F1 fans in Italy?

Call: Motorsport fandom in Italy is really different to what it is in the UK, because in the UK, you’ve got a lot of teams. You’re supporting McLaren, Red Bull, Aston Martin and then you’ve got people supporting Lando Norris, or George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Lots of British drivers, lots of British based teams.

I’ve always found F1 fandom in the UK to be a bit more diverse in terms of how people support their favourites, but in Italy, it’s just Ferrari, people are obsessed with it.

When Enzo Ferrari said, ‘You ask a kid to draw a car, and they’ll draw it red.’ That’s the way it is, and I think it’s always been very Ferrari-centric.

But in the meantime, it has somehow changed because with Ferrari obviously not winning, especially the younger generation, they start looking the other way. Max Verstappen had a lot of fans in Italy last year.

The younger generation, who didn’t see Michael Schumacher win his five titles, support Ferrari but are a little more open. But I think Kimi has also got the older generation who have always been Ferrari fans, and they’re getting excited about this kid and what he can do.

When people stop me on the street, they wonder, ‘Is he really that good? Is he really doing this?’ People still can’t believe it.

How does his popularity compare with that of Jannik Sinner?

Call: If you watch Italian television, literally every 30 seconds there is a commercial break featuring John Cena.

It’s obviously early days for Antonelli, Sinner won Wimbledon and is world number one, but I’m sure if Kimi keeps going at this pace, it won’t be long before that happens, especially with F1 being so popular now. He is becoming a superstar.

An example of what I love about people about Kimi came during our five-week break before Miami, when he went to Imola to watch the World Endurance Championship, and everyone saw it.

But at the weekend, I was racing in an Italian GT championship at Imola, and he came to watch because his dad runs a team. And even though the circuit was full of people around him, he still acted like a normal kid.

But he is no more. He can’t go karting, or he can’t go watch his dad’s team race like he used to, and I think he’s facing that fact now.

Did Italy miss the World Cup because of the increased attention?

Call: Not qualifying for the World Cup was such a disappointment for everyone, a really terrible disappointment.

If you look at the summer, you have something to look forward to and it’s not the World Cup, it’s F1 and tennis.

The Italians became instant fans. And if you think about MotoGP and seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi and that movement, it’s been remarkable how quickly it’s grown.

The only difference is that if you compare F1 with MotoGP, the addiction to Ferrari is much more significant than the fandom of Ducati.

Is Italy hoping to give Antonelli the driver’s title now?

Call: No one was talking about Kimi winning the title before the season started, even if everyone knew that Mercedes had the best car, especially for the first part of the championship.

If you had asked someone in February who they thought was going to win the championship, they wouldn’t have said Kimmy, they would have said George or Max, or Lando, or something like that.

Everything is very emotional in Italy, so often you love a team or you love a driver a lot, but then, when setbacks arise, Italians are really passionate about them too.

So expectations are high. But I think Mercedes is doing a good job reminding everyone that this guy, it’s his second season, he’s skipped Formula 3, and he’s really young and really talented, but has a long way to go.

How does Antonelli’s support compare to Ferrari’s in Manja?

Call: I hope they support both, but I remember when Kimi crashed with Charles Leclerc at Zandvoort last year, he got a lot of criticism for it.

Ferrari is a cult, but I think that will change, especially now that he is the championship leader. And I really see the really young in him.

There will always be some Ferrari fans who will be a bit disappointed if Kimi wins and hopefully the new generation of fans will be happier if they don’t.

But it is definitely a movement. When people stop you in a cafe to talk about F1 because they’ve seen you on television, usually, the question is, ‘When will Ferrari start winning again?’ And it’s quite annoying, because you never know what to answer.

Now the question is, ‘Can Kim really do it? She looks amazing.’ And I like that. It’s a different picture, and it engages more fans.

Formula 1 next heads to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix and another sprint weekend. Watch live on Sky Sports F1 from 22-24 May. Stream Sky Sports now – no contract, cancel anytime