Valentino Rossi: A Crazy Idea for a Future on the Track Alongside Kimi Antonelli

The fact that Valentino Rossi is rooting for Kimi Antonelli is certainly nothing new. However, in an interview with Motorsport.com, “The Doctor” spoke at length about the current leader of the Formula 1 World Championship. “I’m really proud of Kimi and happy with what he’s doing,” Rossi said enthusiastically.

“We’ve been friends since his name was first mentioned on the go-kart tracks. We used to go racing at Migliaro, near Ravenna, and the track owner would always say, ‘There’s this kid named Kimi’—a name that sticks in your head. We’d go there, and he’d already set the track record, so I decided I wanted to meet him. We met there. Seeing him make it to F1 and win like this is amazing. We’re huge fans—both me and the guys at the Academy. And it’s wonderful for Italy to finally have an Italian driver winning in F1; maybe we’ve never had one this strong, or we’d have to go back to the ’60s and ’70s.”

But it wasn’t all praise. Rossi also joked about the idea of a shared future in GT racing: “I’d really love to do something together, but the thing is, he’s with Mercedes and I’m with BMW—that’s a problem. Sometimes I tell him, ‘Come on, let’s do the 24 Hours!’, but Toto Wolff told him he has to win at least four world championships first. I’ll have to wait a little longer, but I’d really love to.”