Kimi Antonelli with the Ferrari team: Mercedes takes it in good humour

Time and again, Tifosi ask themselves: why on earth isn’t Kimi Antonelli driving a Ferrari? Who messed this up?

Former Ferrari boss Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, who, like Kimi, hails from Bologna, told the *Corriere della Sera*: “It does bother me a bit to see him in a Mercedes. I’d love to see him in a Ferrari.”

But why is that, actually? Did Ferrari simply overlook the young Kimi when scouting for talent? Or was someone asleep at the wheel?

Montezemolo commented on the matter to Sky Italia: “I know that our sporting director at the time, Massimo Rivola, intended to sign Antonelli.”

Giovanni Minardi (son of team founder Giancarlo Minardi) told the Gazzetta dello Sport: “We started working on this early on, aiming to get Kimi into a junior programme as quickly as possible. We spoke to both Ferrari and Mercedes – it was important to act wisely and choose the partner who could offer the best guarantees.”

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Marco Antonelli, Kimi’s father, told the Formula Passion website: “Kimi was eleven years old and was even allowed to try out the simulator at Ferrari in Maranello – the very same one that had been developed for the students at Ferrari’s Driver Academy. Everything was in place to secure my son a place at Ferrari.”

“But Maurizio Arrivabene, who was head of the racing department at the time, ultimately said my son was too young. A few months later, Mercedes got in touch with us, and the rest is history.”

Kimi Antonelli recently attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed. “It was my first time there – an incomparable atmosphere.”

Kimi also posed for a photo with the Ferrari delegation. Mercedes commented on this on X with a good sense of humour: “It’s always nice to meet some fans.”