Federica Brignone clarifies her situation and offers some advice to Kimi Antonelli

Federica Brignone enjoyed the triumphant weekend of the 2026 Italian Grand Prix from the front row. The skier from the Aosta Valley, who was invited to present the award to pole-sitter Pierre Gasly on Saturday afternoon, celebrated Kimi Antonelli’s victory on Sunday alongside other top athletes at Monza, starting with Jannik Sinner. However, her interview with *La Gazzetta dello Sport*, on newsstands Tuesday, naturally began with the classic question about her physical condition following her knee surgery two weeks ago: “I’m feeling great; the surgery went perfectly, and I really needed this wonderful weekend of motorsport.”

There wasn’t really a meeting between Federica and Kimi: “Actually, on Sunday, before the race, I preferred to let him focus because, as an athlete myself, I know full well how much pressure there is in the hours leading up to a major sporting event—especially when it’s a home race and with all the pressure he was under starting from the back of the grid. There will certainly be other opportunities. In my career, I’ve seen other very precocious athletes achieve great things. But it definitely excites me to see his talents already so evident in a young, down-to-earth guy like him.”

Brignone has some advice for Antonelli: “He needs to stay true to himself. He needs to keep enjoying himself, just as I see him doing today in Formula 1 despite the pressure of the World Championship battle. Once you start winning, others’ expectations and the hype around you grow bigger and bigger, and it’s hard to hold onto that initial joy. Kimi needs to try to stay like a kid in that sense, because if he holds onto the passion that brought him all the way to Formula 1, he’ll be able to overcome even the toughest challenges.”

“When will we see Federica Brignone in a single-seater? At most, I can be a passenger (laughs, ed.). I took a lap around the track in an Audi R8 alongside Dindo Capello, but I’ve never actually been in a single-seater—maybe in the future… by having a driver take the wheel of one of those race cars with a passenger seat. I think I’d have a lot of fun, but I’ll let them do the driving—they’re true legends,” joked the two-time Olympic gold medalist at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Games.