- Montezemolo says Antonelli’s Mercedes win in China reopened what he sees as a Ferrari mistake.
- Ferrari hesitated over Antonelli’s age. Mercedes moved early and built his path to Formula 1.
- Montezemolo also worries that moving to Ferrari too early could have harmed Kimi Antonelli.
Former Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo says Kimi Antonelli’s first Formula 1 win brought Italy pride and him regret. Antonelli, 19, won the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix from pole for Mercedes in Shanghai, becoming the first Italian driver to win an F1 race in 20 years.
Montezemolo praised the young driver’s calm and skill, but said it “was a bit annoying” to see him in a Mercedes because he would rather have seen him at Ferrari. He made those remarks to Corriere della Sera, and also spoke warmly about Antonelli on Sky’s Champions studio.
A win that stirred both pride and pain
When Antonelli crossed the line in Shanghai, Italy had its moment. Fans, former drivers and old team bosses celebrated a homegrown talent reaching the top in a sport that had gone two decades without an Italian winner. For Montezemolo, that pride was real, but it did not come without a sting.
On the Sky’s Champions studio, Montezemolo said he was happy for Antonelli.
“I am very happy for him because he is a serious, mature young man with his feet on the ground,” he said, as quoted by ScuderiaFans. “I like him a lot, and I hope he stays that way. I am truly moved to see an Italian driver, a talented young man like him. He has a great future ahead.”
The remarks were warm and direct, and they matched the mood across the country. Yet his pride did not hide his frustration. In comments to Corriere della Sera, reported by grandprix.com, Montezemolo said Antonelli’s drive had moved him, especially the way he took control of the race without fear.
But he also said what many were thinking: “It was a bit annoying to see him in a Mercedes. I would have preferred him in Ferrari.”
The missed opportunity at Maranello
That regret traces back years. According to accounts from people close to the Antonelli family, Ferrari had seen the talent early. Massimo Rivola, then in charge of the Ferrari Driver Academy, noticed Antonelli when he was still a karting prospect and invited him to visit Ferrari.
Antonelli, then around 11, even used the Maranello simulator set aside for young academy drivers. For a moment, the path looked real. Ferrari had a local prodigy on its radar, and the fit seemed natural.
But the move never happened. Maurizio Arrivabene, who then led Ferrari’s racing department, decided Antonelli was too young to judge properly. That call closed one door and opened another.
Soon after, Toto Wolff stepped in. He offered not just interest but a plan. Mercedes built a long-term route for Antonelli, one step at a time, and that process ended with a Formula 1 seat.
Antonelli has since confirmed the basic outline himself. He said he had contact with Ferrari when he was 10 or 11 years old, but Mercedes acted first and showed faith. He added that when Wolff called at the end of 2017, he and his family accepted right away.
Montezemolo’s anger at Ferrari’s leadership
Montezemolo has not tried to hide where he places the blame. In his Sky Sports interview, he said: “I am very angry that he isn’t at Ferrari. It upset me a lot. I know that Massimo Rivola wanted to bring him to Maranello. He is from Bologna and was the team’s first choice.”
Those words do more than praise Antonelli. They also point to a split inside Ferrari at the time. Rivola had pushed for the young driver, but the fear of enormous pressure at Ferrari swayed the decision.
Giovanni Minardi, who helped guide the early part of Antonelli’s career, has backed up that version of events. He said talks took place with both Ferrari and Mercedes. Ferrari worried about Antonelli’s age, while Mercedes offered the stronger long-term path.
That history now looks more painful for Ferrari because of where Antonelli comes from.
He was born and raised in Emilia-Romagna, within reach of Maranello and the heart of Italy’s racing culture. For many fans, that makes the missed link feel less like a normal academy loss and more like a homegrown talent allowed to slip away.
The pressure argument: a double-edged sword
Montezemolo’s view is not simple. Even as he criticises Ferrari for missing Antonelli, he has also argued that putting the teenager straight into Ferrari could have done real harm. As quoted by F1GrandPrix, he said:
“Putting him immediately in Ferrari would have meant destroying him. He would have risked being crushed by expectations.”
His point rests on Ferrari’s long-held belief that some drivers need room before they can carry the weight of the team. Montezemolo used Felipe Massa as an example, noting that Ferrari once placed Massa at Sauber first so he could learn away from the full glare of Maranello.
That same concern shaped Ferrari’s view of Antonelli. An Italian teenager at Ferrari would have carried two kinds of pressure at once: the pressure of Formula 1’s most-watched team and the pressure of being the local hope. Inside Ferrari, that risk appears to have mattered.
There is evidence to support the caution, at least in part. Antonelli’s rookie season in 2025 at Mercedes was not easy after he replaced Lewis Hamilton.
Former Ferrari driver Arturo Merzario later pointed to that year as proof that a patient team mattered and suggested Ferrari might not have shown the same tolerance that Wolff did.
Mercedes, by contrast, stuck with the plan it had built. When Hamilton left for Ferrari for 2025, Mercedes made Antonelli the third-youngest Formula 1 driver ever. Many doubted the move. Wolff backed the young driver anyway, and Antonelli now has a landmark win to show for that faith.
Even now, Mercedes has tried to keep expectations in check. Wolff has warned against getting carried away after Shanghai and has noted that teammate George Russell, the 2026 championship leader, still has the edge in outright pace.
A future in red? The question Italy cannot stop asking
Montezemolo’s comments have pushed the next debate into the open. If Ferrari missed Antonelli once, could it still get him later? Italian media has already begun to ask that question more loudly after Shanghai, especially with Formula 1’s driver market always ready to shift.
For the moment, Antonelli’s position is clear. Mercedes backed him when Ferrari did not, and his focus remains on growing with the team that gave him his chance.
Still, Ferrari’s pull does not fade, especially for an Italian driver from the region around Maranello. Montezemolo’s regret has given voice to a wider feeling inside Italy: Antonelli’s first great Formula 1 moment was a national triumph, but also a reminder of what Ferrari failed to secure.
