Kimi Antonelli’s predecessor takes a hard line against Charles Leclerc: “It’s better to keep quiet”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli has reached the impressive milestone of six Formula 1 victories by winning the recent Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, becoming the second-most successful Italian in the history of Formula 1. Riccardo Patrese also has six wins to his name; in the meantime, he has criticized the very young driver from Bologna’s Mercedes teammate, George Russell, as well as Charles Leclerc—particularly regarding certain moments that defined the Ferrari driver’s 2026 season.
“Sometimes drivers are just like that,” Patrese observed. “If things aren’t going their way, they think the whole world is out to get them. But when they act that way, they end up doing silly things. Like Leclerc, who tried to justify himself with criticisms like the ones he made about the brakes. And it’s curious that he did so two or three races ago in a way very similar to how Russell is acting now. But sometimes it’s better to keep quiet rather than make excuses.”
The victory at Spa carries enormous weight in the world championship standings as well: Antonelli leads with 209 points, holding a 45-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton and a 50-point lead over his teammate George Russell. This margin is starting to spark talk of possible team orders at Mercedes, even though team principal Toto Wolff cut the discussion short: “This is as much a Constructors’ Championship as it is a Drivers’ Championship. We would never take a victory away from any of our drivers. So, if George were in the lead—even though he’s behind in the championship—at this stage of the season, we wouldn’t hold him back to let Kimi pass.”
From a historical perspective, the Belgian victory has taken on almost epic proportions for Italian motorsport. Antonelli became the first Italian driver to triumph at Spa-Francorchamps in 73 years: the last to do so was Alberto Ascari in 1953. With six wins this season, the 19-year-old has also tied the record for most wins in a single season, held by Ascari himself in 1952. In the all-time list of most successful drivers, the Bologna native now ranks 46th, joining a legend like Gilles Villeneuve with six career wins, and is setting his sights squarely on catching up to Ascari, the only Italian ahead of him with a total of thirteen wins.
Antonelli’s progress seems even more extraordinary when considering the context of just twelve months ago. It was right here at Spa, in 2025, that the young driver was in the midst of a rookie slump: disastrous qualifying sessions, tears in front of reporters, and widespread doubts about Wolff’s decision to entrust him with the seat once held by Lewis Hamilton. Today, however, Kimi is the driving force behind Mercedes, a driver capable of managing and dominating with a maturity surprising for his age. A transformation that has not gone unnoticed even across the Atlantic: The Athletic, the New York Times’ sports platform, dedicated a lengthy editorial to him following his triumph at Spa, highlighting how Antonelli has become a model of “serenity and stability”—qualities that, according to the American publication, make him a credible candidate to become the youngest world champion in history.
The Antonelli phenomenon, after all, has now transcended the confines of the paddock to become a media and social phenomenon of national significance. In Italy, so-called “Kimi-mania” has exploded: his number of Instagram followers has surpassed 6.9 million, a level of popularity that places him ahead of other current Italian sports stars such as Gianluigi Donnarumma and Jannik Sinner. Off the track, however, the young man born in 2006 seems unfazed by fame: he continues to spend his free time with his family and lifelong friends, and is often seen alongside his father Marco at the family’s karting team races, where he is approachable and attentive toward the young drivers who view him as a role model even more than a champion.
