Kimi Antonelli, his father Marco: 'Unexpected result in Monza, now let's keep our feet on the ground'

"No one expected it, we arrived in Monza thinking of taking home some points and keeping the most aggressive rivals at bay. Then a perfect car, a superlative test and a result arrived that no one could have imagined".

His voice hoarse from the celebrations, Marco Antonelli relives all the emotion describing his son's triumphant victory in the Italian GP in Monza. "Now it's important to keep our feet on the ground. We are motorsport people and we know that reality must never get out of hand because to get results you have to keep working, without ever stopping and resting on your laurels", added the father of the F1 World Championship leader. Under the podium in Monza, many Ferrari fans still celebrated Kimi's comeback: "We are Italians and if Ferrari does well we are very pleased. We wear a different shirt, but we are happy that the Italian people keep us in their hearts together with Ferrari. What we saw in Monza with so many kids cheering for Kimi, perhaps also because they see him a bit like them, so young, was indescribable, beautiful." The growth of the 20-year-old from Bologna, just in his second season, is proceeding beyond all expectations.

Also from the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, the first to believe in his talents: "No one expected such a rapid rise, but Toto accepted to take risks, despite having known him since he was a child. He had been clear on the path: 'one year of experience, one of results and one to start winning'. Let's say that we skipped the steps a bit, but thanks to Toto. Without him we wouldn't be here today talking about Kimi", said Marco Antonelli again. The Ferrari fans, after Monza, dream of Kimi in the seat of the Red: "Today Mercedes has a great car. Probably, in the future, Ferrari will also have one, as it has been in the past. After all, no great driver has ever won without a great car. All the great drivers in history have had their opportunities by going to the teams where there were the best cars. In this new F1, as the rules are, there will never again be a dominant car from the first to the last race. There the component takes over driver, who makes the difference, as it was for Verstappen in the past and at this moment for Kimi." The rivalry with George Russell, his teammate, seems to be the dominant theme from now until the end of the World Championship. "Your teammate is your worst opponent. To understand your level of performance, first of all you look at what he has done. At the moment Kimi is in a state of grace, everything works well, but you wake up one morning and find someone who is faster than you. Kimi grew up with this mentality and knows he should never feel like number one. Russell can be a danger, but like Norris, the next Ferrari, the Red Bulls. So it's too early to talk about the final goal, you have to live race by race." Now everything is going in the right direction, but "there have been difficult moments, like when on his debut in Monza, in 2024, he crashed a few minutes into free practice - he recalled - Others will come. For the moment we are enjoying the results of many years' work".