Kimi Antonelli-Ferrari, Arrivabene Isn’t Having It: A Harsh Response to Montezemolo

The “feud” between Luca Cordero di Montezemolo and Maurizio Arrivabene shows no signs of abating. The bone of contention? The “accusations” made by Ferrari’s former president, who claims that the former team principal had Kimi Antonelli poached from him back when he was at Ferrari.

In a lengthy interview with the Spanish media outlet AS, the former Ferrari president once again spoke about how Kimi Antonelli could have become a Ferrari driver: “He’s an extraordinary young man: humble, down-to-earth, and mentally strong. What I regret is that Ferrari had the opportunity to sign him and didn’t take it. When I put Massimo Rivola in charge of the ‘youth team,’ he had already identified Antonelli for Ferrari, but Maurizio Arrivabene said no. The reason? Too young.”

These comments did not sit well with Maurizio Arrivabene, who, on Race Anatomy, responded to his former president, explaining that there was likely a misunderstanding: “He was probably misinformed. When I arrived at Ferrari, I was eight years old, and when I left, I was 12. I’ve never seen anything in writing to that effect. If I had said no at the time, I’d say so openly—especially since saying no isn’t a crime.”

Then came his wish for the future: “I hope we can repeat the Schumacher miracle… Let’s not wait for Antonelli to win two World Championships—let’s bring him to Ferrari first.”