Formula 1: with the victory in Monte Carlo the Bolognese is increasingly favored for the title thanks to a super Mercedes and his incredible talent. But there are still 16 grands prix to go at the end of the season and in Maranello they are hoping for a comeback
Just records, one after another. The youngest driver to win in Monte CarlolHe is the only one who achieved pole position, set the best lap in the race and won the grand prix. The third Italian to win in the Principality after Riccardo Patrese (1982) and Jarno Trulli (2004). But above all the driver leading the Drivers’ Championship with a 66 point advantage over Lewis Hamilton thanks to five consecutive victories achieved in 2026. Kimi Antonelli he is a boy from Bologna, not even twenty years old, with a friendly face and curls surrounding his face, born to a normal family with a father who has always had a passion for motors and passed it on to his son from the early years of his life. But then there was the desire, determination and lots and lots of talent to reach these levels and gain the trust of a Formula 1 totem like Toto Wolff who has always believed in Antonelli and who now in his heart is (almost) sure that at the end of the season the Bolognese will win the world title but he doesn’t even think about saying it and instead invites the Italian media not to exalt Antonelli too much.
Unbeatable
But how can you not fall in love with such a young driver who demonstrates the maturity of veterans on the track? Antonelli has raced twenty-seven grand prix but seeing how he handled the weekend in Monte Carlo he looks like someone who has ten years of racing behind him. Very fast on the track, able to understand where the car needs to improve, cold in managing delicate moments. He himself admitted that the second start, with ten laps to go, which could have ruined everything he had achieved up to that point, gave him shivers. He had Lewis Hamilton at his side, a seven-time world title winner, but the veteran looked like Kimi. No hesitation, the second start was as perfect as the firstahead of everyone at the first corner and then up to the checkered flag. Impregnable, very fast, extraordinarily good at managing the situation by continuing to push while invitations to slow down came from the team.
The internal struggle was won
Montecarlo also reiterated the hierarchies at Mercedes. Even if Toto Wolff continues to repeat that the two drivers of the “silver arrows” always start on equal terms, the first part of the season has demonstrated Antonelli’s superiority over Rusell, highlighted in particular by the times achieved by Kimi in Monte Carlo. Almost half a second per lap difference in favor of the Italian, an enormity. And a feeling with the car that the Englishman has never shown he has. And then with Verstappen proceeding in spurts and one Mc Laren is far from last season’s performancethe only antagonist for Antonelli it seems Ferrari. Even if the 66-point gap that Lewis Hamilton has over Kimi is very heavy. Only six grands prix contested and sixteen more to see if Mercedes will continue to dominate as it has done so far. It’s true that this is a season in which the cars are constantly evolving and continue to change, but in the end the result is always the same: Mercedes wins and Kimi almost always triumphs. Montecarlo further tipped the scales towards the German team because on the street circuit the engine power was said to have less impact on the chassis. True, but then from Friday to Saturday the performance of Antonelli’s Mercedes improved incredibly while Ferrari proved that it doesn’t have the pace of the Bolognese’s car, both in practice and in the race. With these assumptions it is difficult to imagine turnarounds even if the road is still long. Just wait a few days, because already next weekend we will race in Barcelona and in Maranello they are preparing the revenge. Especially Charles Leclercwho came out badly from the race on his home circuit and ended up in a fierce controversy with his team over the choice of brakes. He announced that in Barcelona he will use the system that Hamilton happily experimented with. We’ll see if it will be enough to get close to the unbeatable (for now) Kimi Antonelli.
