Kimi Antonelli divides Italian fans: the F1 World Championship leader isn’t shy about it

Although he leads the Formula 1 World Championship standings and has a real chance to achieve a historic feat by securing a championship victory—one that Italian motorsports has not seen in 73 years—Kimi Antonelli divides fans in Italy, who nonetheless continue to hold Ferrari dear to their hearts. At the press conference ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver acknowledged this divide but explained that he does not want to let it affect him too much.

“I know how we Italians are—we have a unique way of getting excited, and Ferrari is a massive brand, a symbol that extends far beyond the track. So it’s normal that there are so many fans cheering for them. I’m happy at Mercedes, though: they believed in me when I was a child, and that means more to me than any flag. In any case, I know full well that I’ll have to live with this division—it’s part of the game.”

The home Grand Prix comes at a very special time for Antonelli: though he leads the overall standings, he already knows he’ll have to start from the back of the grid on Sunday due to a power unit replacement and the resulting penalty. “I don’t have anything to prove, unlike last season, when I felt the pressure to show that I deserved to be in Formula 1. Now I’m much more level-headed: of course it’s wonderful to race here, but in terms of my approach, it’s just another race. The penalty? I’ll try to fight my way back into the top five, then we’ll see.”

Born in 2006, Kimi Antonelli has won his first-ever Formula 1 races this season: his victories came at the Chinese, Japanese, Miami, Canadian, Monaco, and Spa Grands Prix, as well as the Sprint race in Great Britain. With eleven race weekends remaining, his lead over his closest rivals, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, stands at 59 points (the Bologna native has 242 points, while his teammate and the Ferrari driver each have 183).