Italy has a new national hero—Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Every era has its heroes. Long before our time, back in the 1930s, it was the Italian Tazio Nuvolari; then came ...
... in the 1950s, it was the Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio; later, the Scot Jim Clark; in the late 1970s, the Canadian Gilles Villeneuve; ...
...and a decade later, Ayrton Senna, followed by Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and finally Max Verstappen.
But the year 2026 saw a new king emerge in the premier class. The Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli from Bologna, just twenty years old, took the throne in a flash, 73 years after Alberto Ascari, the last Italian champion (1952 and ’53).
With a flawless performance in Mexico City, Antonelli succeeded his predecessor, Sebastian Vettel, as the youngest world champion. Vettel had first claimed the title in Abu Dhabi in 2010 at the age of 23. Lewis Hamilton was also just 23 in 2008, but a few months older than “Seb.” In his short career (1950 to 1955), Alberto Ascari competed in just 32 Grand Prix races, but won 13 of them, secured 14 pole positions, and set 12 fastest laps. By the time of the Mexico Grand Prix—in just under two years and 42 starts—Kimi had 9 wins, 7 pole positions, and 10 fastest laps. Viva l’Italia!
The nonchalance with which “Kimi”—in only his second F1 season—proved all of last year’s critics wrong was absolutely remarkable. The way he outclassed his more experienced teammate George Russell in a completely fair manner, the way he won the race at Monza after starting from 19th and still win the race, or how he battled against Max Verstappen and even Lewis Hamilton as if he’d been doing this “job” for 100 years—it was simply sensational.
This record will certainly stand for many years to come, since today a driver must be at least 18 years old to compete in a Grand Prix. Very few have managed to win a Grand Prix in just their second season—and “Loisl” Hamilton was one of them. But to then go on to win the world championship title is absolutely incredible, especially since his opponents are no pushovers. Yet, as Vettel aptly put it: “Talent alone isn’t enough to become world champion. It’s all about the mind.”
It was truly moving to see even his two closest rivals, Verstappen and Hamilton, sharing in Kimi’s joy on the podium in Mexico and celebrating him.
Because they, too, know exactly what that one Mercedes driver whispered to his protégé: “Kimi, this is just the first chapter!”
