Bologna, September 7, 2026 – “No one expected it, we arrived in Monza thinking about bringing home some points. Then a perfect car, a superb performance from him and a result came that no one could have imagined”.
Thus Marco Antonelli, Kimi’s father, described his son’s triumphant victory at the Italian GP in Monza, guest on the microphones of ‘Radio anch’io sport’ (Radio1).
“Now it is important to keep your feet on the ground, reality must never slip out of your hands because to achieve results you must never stop and rest on your laurels – he added -. We are happy that the Italian people hold us dear along with Ferrari, what we saw in Monza yesterday with so many young people cheering for Kimi was beautiful”.
The growth of the 20-year-old from Bologna, just in his second season in F1, is proceeding beyond all expectations. “No one expected such a rapid rise, but Toto Wolff was clear: ‘one year of experience, one of results and one to start winning’. Let’s say we have skipped some steps, but thanks to Toto,” said Marco Antonelli again, referring to the Mercedes team boss. Yesterday Ferrari fans dreamed of young Kimi in the Red seat: “Today Mercedes has a great car, but maybe in the future Ferrari will have one too, as it was in the past. No driver can win without a great car,” he concluded.
The words of Federica Brignone: “Historic result”
Among the many who witnessed Kimi Antonelli’s feat live was also Federica Brignone, the multi-Olympic champion skier. “Yesterday it seemed like an impossible feat even to think about, this result will go down in history, Italy will not forget it – she told Ansa –. He had the pressure of racing in front of his home crowd, but he was clear-headed, a great one. The race was a bit variable in the first laps and this certainly helped him but he only made the right choices, a lot of overtaking: it was something incredible, I can actually imagine what he felt”.
Federica Brignone, who yesterday handed the wheel to pole-man Pierre Gasly, met the number one of Formula1, Stefano Domenicali, gifting him a replica of her racing helmet with the tiger as her symbol: “You have to congratulate him for everything that is the Circus because it is not just a sporting event but 360 degrees. It involves everyone and is something huge, it is an incredible machine that really works well. It is truly a wonderful experience”.
Comments from celebrities. Vasco: “You drove us crazy”
Among the thousands of comments on the photo posted by Kimi on Instagram, in which he appears in the foreground in front of a sea of fans, there are also those of many well-known faces starting with Vasco Rossi: “Kimi, you drove us crazy – writes Vasco – You are truly a force of nature, an amazing talent, a phenomenal phenomenon!! What a show!! Hooray”.
Compliments from colleagues are not missing, starting with Lando Norris: “Great Kimi” or from former drivers like Nico Rosberg.
Applause also from the world of motorcycling: in particular from VR 46 of Valentino Rossi, from Marco Bezzecchi (“What have you done”), from Marc Marquez and from Fabio Quartararo (“Que grande”).
