F1 News & Gossip

F1 star battles miserable weather to carry Olympic torch

Sheona Mountford Monday 26 January 2026 10:54

Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, Ferrari, Mercedes, Montreal, 2025

An F1 star was included as a part of the 2026 Winter Olympic torch relay as we edge ever closer to Milan-Cortina.

The 2026 Winter Olympics takes place from Friday, February 6 2026 until Sunday, February 22 2026, and throughout Italy famous names have been helping to carry the Olympic torch,

When the beacon of light entered Palmanova, it was the turn of Mercedes F1 star Kimi Antonelli to carry the torch, who braced wintery conditions with a smile on his face.

A video of Antonelli trotting through the streets of Palmanova was shared to Milan-Cortina and Antonelli's social media, bracing the rain in a white, orange and pink Olympic tracksuit.

We knew it was raining because, very helpfully, Antonelli plunged his finger into a puddle which he then glided across the water, and said: "Unfortunately, it's raining today."

The video was then accompanied by some fake team radio as Antonelli went for his jog, just to remind people the Olympic Committee had chosen a bonified F1 celeb instead of pulling some random tyke out of school.

Kimi wasn't the first!

Antonelli wasn't the only racing driver to feature on the torch relay route, with several other Italian names also enjoying the honour.

Ferrari's 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Antonio Fuoco carried the torch along the Catanzaro seafront in Calabria, while former F1 star and reigning WEC champion, Antonio Giovinazzi carried the torch through Massafra.

The Prancing Horse got a slice of the Olympic action themselves, when the torch arrived at the Museo Ferrari earlier in January.

In the video at the museum, the torch was passed outside and proudly presented in front of a fleet of Ferrari supercars.

F1 Mercedes Kimi Antonelli