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Kimi Antonelli’s maiden F1 victory at the Chinese Grand Prix has propelled him into stardom in Italy, which begs the question of why he never pursued a drive at the country’s beloved Scuderia Ferrari.
After taking the chequered flag first at the Shanghai International Circuit last Sunday, Kimi Antonelli became the 116th F1 driver to stand on the top step of the podium out of the 782 competitors that have started a Grand Prix.
After Kimi Antonelli’s win in Shanghai, which F2 graduate will be the next to win their first Grand Prix?
Only 16 of those Grand Prix winners hail from Italy, with Antonelli’s rout marking the first time that the Italian national anthem has been played for the winning driver since Giancarlo Fisichella won the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix for Renault.
There’s no denying that an Italian world champion at the wheel of an F1 car at Ferrari is the ultimate dream for Enzo Ferrari’s successors, with his son, Piero Ferrari, admitting that dreaming of Antonelli wearing red is ‘not forbidden’.
- READ MORE: Guenther Steiner blasts Toto Wolff’s ‘self-promotion’ message to Kimi Antonelli after Chinese GP win
Kimi Antonelli explains why he signed for Mercedes despite ‘contact’ with Ferrari
In an interview with Sport MediaSet following his feat in Shanghai, Antonelli was asked about his initial move to Mercedes and Ferrari’s involvement during the early stages of negotiations.
“I had contact with Ferrari,” Antonelli started. “I was 10 or 11 at the time, but in the end, Mercedes came first – they were willing to take a chance. At the end of 2017, Toto got in touch with us; I’m very grateful to him.”
It has been reported that Ferrari internally felt like Antonelli would have a burden on his shoulders if he pursued a drive with the Scuderia, due to him being an Italian driver at the most beloved racing outfit that the Mediterranean country has to offer.
Kimi Antonelli’s win in Shanghai makes him the second youngest Grand Prix winner in F1 history. Will Max Verstappen’s record ever be broken?!
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The 19-year-old joined the Mercedes set-up in 2019, while he was still at the height of his karting career. Antonelli would go on to win some of the most prestigious events on the karting calendar with Mercedes’ three-pointed star on his helmet.
The young Italian’s difficult rookie campaign with the Silver Arrows last year ended up being a prime example of why Antonelli was ‘fortunate’ to sign with Mercedes over the high-pressure environment he would have found himself in at Maranello.
Former Ferrari F1 driver Arturo Merzario believes Ferrari’s leadership wouldn’t have been as patient with Antonelli as Wolff was, indicating that he likely wouldn’t have lasted the full season if things had gone the same way last year in red instead of silver.
- READ MORE: George Russell should be worried about Max Verstappen as new Kimi Antonelli contract detail emerges
Kimi Antonelli has hinted at a potential Ferrari switch in the past
Of course, Antonelli is still in the early stages of his career in the pinnacle of single-seater motorsport, and, depending on the future landscape of the F1 driver market, Italian fans could very well see the 19-year-old don Ferrari overalls in the future.
In fact, in a previous interview with Sky Sport Italia, Antonelli hinted at potentially teaming up with Ferrari after achieving his immediate goals of becoming an F1 world champion with Mercedes.
Oliver Bearman is understood to be the heir apparent for whoever jumps ship first out of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, and the current Haas driver has plenty of experience of sitting next to Antonelli in driver briefings from their time together as teammates in the junior categories.
It would be one of the most exciting teammate partnerships on the grid if it ever did come to fruition, despite their most recent tenure together at Prema Racing in Formula 2 not proving to be massively fruitful for any of the parties involved.
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