Valentino Rossi on Kimi Antonelli: “I found myself wondering, where’s an Italian?”

Kimi Antonelli made racing history in Mexico on Sunday evening: the 20-year-old became the first Italian to be crowned Formula 1 World Champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953, and is also the youngest title-holder. This has not gone unnoticed by the MotoGP elite.

Fabio Quartararo, Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi, as well as icon Valentino Rossi, congratulated the Mercedes driver with very emotional messages on social media.

Nine-time world champion Rossi (47) expressed particular admiration for his training partner Antonelli in an interview with Sky Italia; he has already taken part in several karting sessions with him, and Antonelli has also visited Rossi and his VR46 protégés at the ranch.

In the interview, Rossi recalled his first encounters with Antonelli: “I first took notice of Kimi because of his name, as we’ve known Kimi since Räikkönen. Kimi, Kimi, Kimi – it sticks in your mind straight away. I remember we talked about the lad whilst karting in Migliaro. The track owner there told me there was a lad who held the record and was said to be really very good.”

Rossi: After a performance like that, Antonelli is a hero

‘Vale’ continued: ‘I then watched Kimi for a bit. I also remember there was a piece of paper on which he’d written by hand that he’d set the record.” Global superstar Rossi knows: “Kimi will be an absolute hero in Italy after a performance like that, because it’s a historic achievement.”

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Rossi also admitted: “I’m a big fan of motorsport in general and have always wondered where there’s an Italian in Formula 1 who can win races or even take the World Championship. I always thought that was a shame. In the Motorcycle World Championship, we’ve got plenty of lads competing for victories. The last world champion was Ascari. It’s fantastic to see an Italian as world champion again. But it’s going to be tough now, because he’s becoming a global superstar and has to deal with that. If he stays the way he is, then I’m not worried about Kimi!”