Ferrari Lost the Jewel of Kimi Antonelli in Formula 1, but Toto Wolff Got Him for Mercedes

The Italian team missed out on signing the young Italian who just won his first race in Formula 1

Kimi Antonelli Won

Kimi Antonelli became one of the youngest drivers to achieve his first race victory, the 18-year-old driver born in Bologna returned Italy to glory in this competition where the 22 best drivers in the world can compete for eternal glory. A big question that arose after the young driver's victory and celebration was the irony that the Italian driver does not race for an Italian team like Ferrari but for Mercedes.

Lost opportunity

The response takes place in his early karting stages, where Ferrari had the opportunity to incorporate him into their young driver academy, but they dismissed him for being too young for their program. This decision by the Italian team opened the door for Toto Wolff to sign the 12-year-old for his team in 2019, someone who had already made a mistake by letting a talent like Max Verstappen slip away, would not make the same mistake with Kimi Antonelli.

The trajectory of Antonelli

The young Italian has had a meteoric rise in the lower categories of Formula 1, being the champion of the Italian and German F4 in 2022, he was also the regional champion in 2023 and jumped directly to Formula 2, where he then had his rise last season to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.