Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, following Toto Wolff, defends driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Expectations from his home country Italy are high for the Italian driver, who recently won three Grands Prix in a row. According to Domenicali, it is unfair to compare the young driver to greats like Ayrton Senna and Max Verstappen already: ‘It is also disrespectful to the legends’.
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After his three consecutive Grand Prix wins, expectations for Andrea Kimi Antonelli in his home country Italy are high. The young Italian is becoming more and more a star in his own country. Team boss Toto Wolff has already taken measures to protect the Mercedes driver from the increasing pressure. Fellow countryman and Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali agrees with the Austrian team boss that Kimi Antonelli must be protected.
“Kimi should not be compared to the greats of the past,” Domenicali tells the Italian media. “That is unfair to him and disrespectful to the legends of motorsport. I have known them all, from Senna to Schumacher, from Räikkönen to Alonso, up to Hamilton and Verstappen. They have all left an indelible mark on F1.”
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Still, the Italian also sees racing talent in the young Mercedes driver. “Apart from his natural feel for speed, what strikes me about Antonelli is how quickly he learns from his mistakes,” Domenicali continues. “And it is justified that so many Italians compare him to Sinner (world number one tennis player, ed.) because they recognize the emotions he evokes.”
Secret hope for a title
Although Domenicali, as Formula 1 CEO, adopts a neutral stance towards motorsport, he honestly admits to secretly hoping for a title for fellow countryman Kimi Antonelli. “Given my position, I cannot say that,” the CEO smiles. “But I will say it anyway: if he were to win the world championship, I would be overjoyed. We speak the same dialect, he could be my son.”
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