Formula 1 driver Kimi Antonelli: The rookie who became a title candidate at racing speed

DThe cap, the flowing mane peeking out from underneath, is what the 160th winner in Formula 1 history looks like, the second youngest ever: Andrea Kimi Antonelli, although the first christening name has long since become obsolete. Just as his father had always wanted, remembering the exceptional Finnish pilot Kimi Räikkönen. A teenager who grew up at racing speed, and not just at this Chinese Grand Prix.

The circle of title candidates is imperative to enrich this 19-year-old, who was not ashamed of his tears of joy. It wasn’t so much his own record that moved him so much, but also the fact that he was the first Italian since Giancarlo Fisichella two decades ago to be able to achieve a victory for the weaned car nation: “I said after qualifying that I wanted to bring Italy back to the top, and I succeeded.” Only once during his confident lead, when he made a major braking mistake shortly before the end, did Antonelli briefly have doubts. In his words, “I almost had a heart attack.”

But even his discoverer and sponsor Toto Wolff later laughed off the faux pas, saying that he still had to admit to such small ineptitudes. Otherwise, the junior from Bologna seems to be quite grown up. Even if Wolff can now admit that he repeatedly asked himself last year whether he had perhaps exposed the talent to the great pressure of becoming Lewis Hamilton’s successor too early. In his congratulatory message, the Austrian repeated all the doubts raised from outside over the pit radio: “He’s too young, you shouldn’t put him in a Mercedes, it’s better to find him a smaller team, he needs experience, look at his mistakes… But there we have it, Kimi, victory!” The success is satisfaction for Wolff’s risk awareness and gut feeling, who gave his protégé the label “merciless” on Sunday.

The second World Cup round confirms a theory from the season opener the week before

The team boss has not yet made a final assessment as to whether the future will be easier for the model protégé as George Russell’s toughest rival. But with this victory the emancipation to become one of the favorites began. It is all the more important that Antonelli remembers more than just the victory ceremony from his debut success in the premier class: “I learned a lot from this race, especially that you should never let up, no matter how good the car may feel.”

Three generations of racing drivers on the podium just outside Shanghai, the chauffeurs could easily be divided into the past, present and future of Formula 1. But of course it’s not that simple, because the yo-yo effect when overtaking on the race track also affects the World Cup ranking. So Kimi Antonelli, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton blur into one ideal person, namely the category of Grand Prix drivers who will take the races and the rules as they come this year. World champion Lando Norris and his predecessor Max Verstappen do not currently belong to this class, not to mention the fact that both did not finish or even start at the Shanghai International Circuit.

The two of them won’t really make a career out of being miserable this season, because the second World Championship round confirms a thesis from the start of the season the week before: The starting phase may be chaotic, perhaps even dangerous, but after that there will be a lively scramble for positions that hasn’t happened all last season. The non-ideological viewer doesn’t really care whether the battery charge level or individual courage is the deciding factor. All the more so when it brings stories like the Silver Arrows’ second double success in a row.

Formula 1’s first semi-electric season could result in a duel between Mercedes and Ferrari

Even after the first three drivers in the race had been ranked in that order in the qualification, Silver Arrows team boss Toto Wolff said that it felt as if three Mercedes drivers had fought for pole position within a second. Antonelli finally got it as the youngest in Formula 1 history at the age of 19 years and 201 days – surpassing Sebastian Vettel’s record.

Antonelli also confirms the family feeling. The liaison between the successful trio is called Peter Bonnington, known only as Bono in the paddock. For years he was the engineer at Hamilton’s side when he won the title and also during the difficult times, now he is Antonelli’s mentor. George Russell, who remains the championship leader with a four point lead over his Italian teammate, is not bothered by Hamilton’s now red racing suit: “If you could choose who you were up there with, it would be exactly the two of them.” For Hamilton, the relief of being on the podium for the first time in his year and a quarter at Ferrari is at least as great as that of Antonelli, who, despite a more than decent rookie season, seemed to be breaking under the burden of being Mercedes’ prodigy.

Despite all the mutual compliments, the second World Championship round confirmed that this first semi-electric season of Formula 1 could amount to a duel between Mercedes and Ferrari, a Classico on four wheels. The Italian racing cars have a huge boost advantage at the start, as Hamilton’s temporary lead underlined. Mercedes, on the other hand, has the power for long distances. As soon as he crossed the finish line, Lewis Hamilton signaled to his command post that he once again believed in the joint project and sent a “Forza Ferrari” after him. Not a bad day for Italy.