Valentino Rossi is already hailing Kimi Antonelli: “It’s a dream—I’ll be in touch.”
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Valentino Rossi is rooting for Kimi Antonelli. The nine-time motorcycle world champion spoke to Sky about the young driver from Bologna, who is making waves in Formula 1 and is in the running for the world title. For “The Doctor,” seeing an Italian compete at the highest levels of motorsports is a source of great satisfaction, not least because of his personal connection with Antonelli, whom he has known since he was a child and with whom he shared his early experiences in karting.
““For Italian motorsport fans, it’s a dream come true, because we’ve never had a Formula 1 driver—an Italian driver—this strong. So it’s great to see him there,” Rossi said.
His friendship with the young talent makes this moment even more special: “For me, it’s really cool because we’ve known him since he was very, very young—we used to race karts together—so seeing him in a position to win is a great source of satisfaction.”
Rossi then commented on Antonelli’s chances ahead of the upcoming race: “I think that, given how things have gone this year, he has the situation under control. So we’ll see on Sunday night.”
Finally, a question about a possible pre-race chat: Will the Doctor reach out to Antonelli to encourage him? The answer is yes, but without any intention of giving him advice: “I’ll reach out to him, I’ll reach out to him. Yes, but I don’t think he needs my advice…”.
