Kimi Antonelli, the boy who taught and crushed in China

The Italian driver achieved his first victory in Formula 1 by winning in Shanghai and became the second youngest to win in the World Championship. George Russell completed another 1-2 for Mercedes.

In 2019, Mercedes announced the incorporation of a 12-year-old boy to its driver program: a certain Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The little Italian stood out in karting, but the precocity with which Toto Wolff had gone to look for him was surprising. Perhaps, to prevent his Ferrari rivals from catching it. La Rossa slept: they lost an Italian named Kimi. The Germans bet on him and the director of the Silver Arrows always took him into consideration. He pampered him, followed him, waited for him… In 2024 a certain Lewis Hamilton, seven-time world champion, six with Mercedes, announced that he would leave the Brackley forces at the end of the year to move to Ferrari. A replacement had to be found and the Austrian priest trusted the little boy Antonelli, barely 18 years old. That gem that Toto was polishing for seven years finally proved him right: Kimi won the Chinese GP, the second date of 2026, and celebrated his first victory in F1.

Kimi’s growth curve was abysmal. A year and a half ago, Kimi got on for the first time in an official session in Monza when participating in the first practice session and almost in his first acceleration he destroyed the Mercedes. Antonelli’s campaign was meteoric. And in the weekend in China he shone from pole position on Saturday, which he achieved with remarkable solvency, despite the fact that his teammate George Russell had a problem in his Mercedes.

ANDThe big test that Kimi had to take was the start. He had been moving very poorly in Australia and in the sprint in China. This new era of F1, among many other issues that changed the way drivers drive, also has its pitfalls. To fill the turbo, to fill the battery, to… And even the most painted one fails. Max Verstappen started badly in the sprint on Saturday and repeated it in the long race this Sunday. But the Italian didn’t fail, he started very well, but… But Ferrari’s performance in the games is shocking. That small turbo charge is cramping and Lewis Hamilton got in first.

Antonelli, Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes and with Peter Bonnington on the radio (the same track engineer behind Lewis’ six titles in the Arrows), was not deterred. In the second corner he took advantage of the benefits of his W17 (the car is on another planet compared to the rest) and managed to overcome it. From then on, it was all leadership. The quick work of the Mercedes mechanics returned Kimi to the lead of the race after the pit stop in full safety car regime (Lance Stroll was left stationary with his weak Aston Martin). He was the only one who returned to the track without giving up a place. And behind him was Franco Colapinto, with whom he had some duels in Formula 2 in 2024, before the Argentine jumped to F1 at Williams. The man from Buenos Aires sidelined the entire troop that attacked him for two laps, a time that Antonelli took advantage of to gain an irrecoverable distance. Only a slight mistake near the end of the race, perhaps nerves for what was to come, was the only mistake. The rest, impeccable to seal their first success.

On Saturday, Antonelli had become the youngest driver to achieve a pole position and as of this Sunday he is the second youngest to achieve a victory: at 19 years 6 months and 18 days he was Verstappen’s escort (18 years 7 months and 15 days). He achieved the 44th victory for Italy in F1 and ended a 20-year streak without drivers from his country climbing to the first step of the podium, since Giancarlo Fisichella’s success achieved in the Malaysian GP on March 19, 2006.

Russell sealed the 1-2 for the Silver Arrows, the second in a row and the 62nd in the team’s history, an area in which only Ferrari surpasses it, with 87. Precisely the Scuderia seems to be the only one that is in a position to, at least, show itself as a contender to fight the dominance of the Germans. Mercedes is on another planet. “I don’t know why he’s so excited about his first pole, if his car is a spaceship,” said Isack Hadjar on Saturday after qualifying. The level of the W17 is beastly. Russell stayed behind the two Ferraris after the pit stop and, after overtaking them, gained an abysmal gap over them in a couple of laps. Hamilton came third, 25s267 behind Kimi and Charles Leclerc was fourth, 28s894. In another story.

Even so, only Ferrari is there to fight. The rest, directly in another universe. McLaren couldn’t even get a car to start: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri couldn’t even make the previous lap. And Red Bull rescued four points from the hand of Isack Hadjar, despite his spin, because everything went out for Verstappen in the RB22 and had to abandon. Oliver Bearman, with an almost certain future at Ferrari (he is a Scuderia driver) was the best of the rest with a brilliant fifth place, just ahead of Pierre Gasly, who had a great performance with Alpine.

Although the teams’ development curve will be enormous as it is a completely new technical regulation, it seems difficult for any team to be able to close the gap on Mercedes. If the dominance continues, the only thing left to know is whether Toto Wolff will give priority to one of its drivers. On the one hand, Russell, who came from the youth team and is in his fifth season with the team. On the other, the young boy that Toto took care of and pampered since he was little. Formula 1 now has 116 winners. The young Antonelli joined, who, in addition to his conductive talent, has enormous charisma and humility. In the Imola race last year, a handful of kilometers from his home in Bologna, he took his schoolmates. Because Antonelli, racing in F1, continued with his studies because he had promised his mother. That’s Kimi, simple and fast. A driver who has a big place reserved in F1. He has just begun his journey, but in just 26 races he has already tasted a victory.