How Antonelli is becoming a legend with a touch of light-heartedness

We have been waiting for him since 23 August 1953—more than 73 years, or 26,726 days as of tomorrow, for those who like to keep track. The last time Italy celebrated one of its own drivers as Formula 1 world champion, television was not in black and white—in fact, it did not even exist; regular broadcasts in Italy had not yet begun. When Alberto Ascari won his second World Championship title driving a Ferrari, there wasn’t even the Fiat 500, the Autostrada del Sole or the European Cup. There was just one man at the top, Fausto Coppi, who won both the Giro and the World Championship that year, but that’s a different sport and we’ve never had a cyclist like him since. Now that, in addition to television, we also have social media, and the European Cup has been replaced by the Champions League, the time has come to fill that void. If it is not tomorrow in Texas, it will be next week in Mexico or the week after that in Brazil. We have waited 73 years – what are a few more weeks? The 102-point lead built up over 17 races allows Kimi Antonelli to put aside the superstition that has always followed him. Even he now admits that, in a few weeks’ time, the World Championship could be his. “We’re almost there. Let’s hope we can wrap it up in a couple of weeks,” he confided to Wembayama, an NBA giant almost twice his height...

When he wins the title, he will become the youngest champion in history, smashing the record held by Sebastian Vettel, who won his first title in 2010 at the age of 23 years, 4 months and 11 days. Kimi will be 20 years and 2 months old tomorrow in Austin when he faces his first ‘match point’. Although securing 23 points more than George Russell and keeping Hamilton more than 125 points behind (he is unlikely to finish higher than fifth even if the Bolognese driver wins) is, rather than a ‘match point’, a near-impossible feat. The task may be easier in a week’s time in Mexico and even more so in two weeks’ time at the Senna home track in São Paulo, where the coronation would be the perfect way to bring things full circle, given that Kimi has always said that Ayrton is his idol, his role model both on and off the track. He has always done so with the light-heartedness and smile that have been his hallmarks ever since he started karting. When those around him, starting with Toto Wolff, asked him to drop certain comparisons, Kimi would appear in public wearing a cap and T-shirt dedicated to Ayrton. For him, it was not a burden but a source of inspiration. Perhaps it is the carefree spirit of his 20 years that makes the difference, but Kimi arrived in Austin feeling less stressed than he did last year when he had to sit his A-levels in Bologna between Grand Prix races during his first season in Formula 1. He has never lost the smile and courtesy with which he has presented himself to the world. Nor has he changed today, even though he is almost as famous as Harry Potter, one of his nicknames. Out there, history – or rather, legend – awaits him.

Kimi is revolutionising the history of motor racing, not only in Italy, where we had by now almost lost hope of ever having an Italian world champion. He is rejuvenating the Formula 1 audience, rekindling passion amongst young people who see him as one of their own – someone who made it from Bologna and from an ordinary family, not the sort that feature regularly in Forbes’ lists of the super-rich. Online interviews—dredged up for the occasion—show the young Kimi already declaring his intention to become Formula 1 world champion, an ambition that took shape from the moment his father Marco first let him try go-karting. For years we referred to a young driver from Monaco who races for Ferrari as ‘the chosen one’, even though the genuine article was right here. Raised—and above all protected—by a family that sometimes seems to have stepped straight out of that Mulino Bianco advert. Parents who accompanied him to the track, but made him study, taking his books with him to the pit lanes at the circuits. His father Marco and mother Veronica feared they would not be able to make his dream come true until, on the advice of Giancarlo Minardi and his son, Toto Wolff appeared on the horizon – the Mercedes mega-boss who decided to take him under his wing and fund him from the age of 12. Without Wolff, we would not have Kimi at the top of the world. He had the courage and vision to put him straight into a Mercedes in place of a certain Lewis Hamilton. “It was never a gamble,” he said, explaining that he knew what he was doing because Kimi had studied, got to know and appreciated him, both on and off the track. He had seen in him the man of the future – the one Ferrari had failed to recognise, having already got Leclerc on their hands. A stroke of luck for Kimi and for Italy, which once again has the Germans to thank. The last time an Italian car dominated the world, a German driver was at the wheel. Today, it is an Italian driver who is leading a German car (in name rather than in fact) to victory in a British team led by an Austrian whose Scottish wife used to be a racing driver. What goes round comes round…

Thanks to Toto and Mercedes, Kimi has been able to capitalise on the undeniable talent that has always been his hallmark and has enabled him to win in almost every category. A talent he has nurtured by working on his mental game (his strong point) and his physical condition (in the space of a year, he’s built up a neck like Tyson’s and improved his stamina to ensure he always stays sharp). He was not under any obligation to win (his teammate Russell was under greater pressure), but he knew he could not afford a mistake. He got off to a poor start in qualifying in Australia, but after that he did not put a foot wrong, racking up five consecutive victories—something no one had ever achieved before. China, Japan, Miami, Canada, Monte Carlo: from the Far East to old Europe via America. Kimi won everywhere and in every possible way. He prevailed as a dominant force (as in Monaco), through comebacks (as in Monza), and as an opportunist strategist (as in Madrid). He won in the style of Senna and Prost, just to cite a couple of awkward comparisons. In a few years’ time we will start drawing comparisons with him, the young man who is becoming a legend. With the smile and light-heartedness that come with his 20 years.