Kimi Antonelli’s masterpiece rewrites the history of Formula 1

There are a thousand ways to rewrite history. Kimi Antonelli chose the most difficult and complicated one, but in the end he painted a masterpiece that no one had ever seen before. Starting from nineteenth on the grid, he rose to first with 25 overtakes that were like so many brushstrokes on a canvas. His ‘Mona Lisa’ brought the Ferrari-red-clad Monza crowd to its feet, cheering for him – the young man who is rewriting the history of Formula 1 and truly seems to be only at the beginning of his legend. The last Italian to win at Monza was Ludovico Scarfiotti, who drove a Ferrari 60 years ago. Kimi was not driving a red car, but he won over the Ferrari fans who flooded the Monza straight beneath the podium where he was singing and crying, crying and singing alongside his mum, dad and little sister, who were watching him from below, overwhelmed with joy.

It feels like living in a dream because nobody had predicted what happened the day before. The other day, Kimi had predicted he could finish in the top five; when he won at briscola on Saturday evening, he saw it as a good omen – he’s very superstitious – but then, when he found himself at the back of the grid with 18 cars ahead of him, all he could think about was not making any mistakes. He’d promised a “full attack” and that’s exactly what it was. By the end of the first lap, he was down in 13th. When Leclerc went off the track at the Parabolica, bringing the race to a halt, he was in 12th. And that, too, was a sign of destiny, as 12 is his favourite number. Nobody quite believed it yet, but many began to hope. After all, he had incurred a penalty for fitting a new engine. And that engine helped him claw back position after position until he was able to attack and overtake his team-mate. He had already made history, as only two drivers had ever managed to take the lead at Monza after starting from beyond 11th place. Yet that was not enough. He was called in for a tyre change under the Safety Car, and by the 29th of the 53 scheduled laps, he was sixth. “I don’t know myself what I’ve done. We’d never have thought we’d get this far. I’m still trying to take it all in. Winning was a dream and I’ve managed to make it come true, but I still can’t quite believe it. But when I saw where I was at the second start, I said to myself: I’ve got to win this, I’ve got to win this.” At that moment he switched into hammer mode, stringing together one fast lap after another, and eight laps later he was already second. Ahead of him was only his team-mate, his only real rival for the championship given Ferrari’s lead on their home track. Kimi kept attacking, taking one kerb after another. When he saw Russell a metre ahead, he made his only mistake of the day. He went for him straight away, even though there were five laps to go. He went wide on the outside of the second corner, coming out of the first chicane. He went onto the sand, but took a bit of a detour off-track and was back on the attack. A lap later, he overtook him. And not just anywhere. He overtook Russell at the Ascari corner, the bend named after Italy’s last world champion. Almost a passing of the torch. A scene that looks as if it were scripted in one of those tear-jerking American films. Except here, it’s all real. “Oh my god,” said Kimi over the radio, while on the track it felt like paradise. It’s all true and all wonderfully Italian. There are those who have won after starting further back than him, such as John Watson, who, driving a McLaren at Long Beach in 1983, won after starting from 22nd place. But that’s just a statistic. Because Kimi has truly rewritten history with something unique that propels him even further ahead in the World Championship standings, where he now holds a 66-point lead over Russell. No Italian had ever won seven races in a single season. There isn’t a single weekend that goes by without him setting a new record. As those in the know say: he’s a lad cut from the same cloth as Hamilton and Verstappen. A lad who can sit at the table with the all-time greats, even today, at just 20 years of age. It’s only the beginning. Just like Sinner’s first Open – who, as it happens, was standing next to him yesterday before the start. Phenomena attract one another.