Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Kimi Antonelli could have joined Ferrari during his junior career, but F1 pundit Davide Valsecchi thinks it’s for the best that Mercedes signed him instead.
Antonelli has broken several records in an incredible start to the 2026 F1 season. Most notably, he has become the sport’s youngest-ever championship leader after claiming his first three victories consecutively.
Ferrari may now be wondering internally how they let the most exciting Italian driver of his generation join another team. Antonelli joined the Mercedes programme back in April 2019 when he was just 12 years old, though he was already a European karting champion by then.
Fill in the gap: Kimi Antonelli will win _ world championships in his career
Kimi Antonelli may not have survived his rookie season if he’d joined Ferrari
Antonelli’s leap at the start of the 2026 season has come as a surprise, at least to those outside Mercedes. His form in his rookie season had been inconsistent.
While Antonelli scored three podiums and finished the year strongly, he also scored just 18 points in 10 races during a DNF-riddled run between Imola and Monza. Teammate George Russell, who has struggled to keep up at recent events, won the overall head-to-head 46-9.
Speaking to Formula1.it, Antonelli’s compatriot Valsecchi said the notoriously high-pressure Ferrari environment would have ‘eaten him up’ last year, while Toto Wolff was extremely patient with his risky signing.
Do you want to see Kimi Antonelli race for Ferrari one day?
“Perhaps the fact that Mercedes took him and not Ferrari was truly a stroke of luck for him,” he said. “Last year, when he had those seven or eight races where he struggled, if he had been at Ferrari they would have eaten him up.
“You know, even the fans themselves: when you’re good you’re the best in the world, while when you make mistakes, they criticise you. The fact that a foreign team took him was a stroke of luck for him. Toto did a masterpiece.”
What one of Ferrari’s most senior figures has said about Kimi Antonelli
Antonelli said he had ‘contact’ with Ferrari as a youngster, but it was Wolff and Mercedes who made a firm approach.
Ralf Schumacher reckons that Antonelli will still race for Ferrari one day, but not in the immediate future. Now that he’s emerging as a superstar, such links are inevitable.
Indeed, Piero Ferrari wouldn’t rule out signing Antonelli, telling the press that it’s not ‘forbidden’ to dream of such a move.
Historically, Italian fans have always supported Ferrari first, above any driver, but perhaps that will start to change this year. September’s Italian GP will be telling in that regard.
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
