Ferrari have a Kimi problem: Why Antonelli is winning over the Tifosi

After a long 73-year wait, Italy finally has another F1 world champion in Kimi Antonelli, but his success has absolutely nothing to do with Ferrari.

Antonelli secured his first F1 title with a third-place finish in Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix, making him the youngest world champion the sport has ever seen, eclipsing the previous record set by Sebastian Vettel by three years and 67 days.

Of course, all of this happened at the same grand prix where Ferrari once again found themselves at the heart of the drama, with yet more tension between team-mates Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in Mexico City.

However, in the aftermath of the race, some in Italy claimed that the fallout that Ferrari are facing regarding Hamilton and Leclerc is not the only dilemma they are facing.

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Ferrari have a Kimi Antonelli problem

Ferrari have an Antonelli problem, it is claimed, with a report from Tuttosport.com outlining how Italian F1 fans - usually staunch Ferrari supporters - are starting to turn to Mercedes in support of their countries newest star.

"Those people continue to believe in the beloved, yet their gaze increasingly turns to the grey Mercedes," the report in question read.

"Which bears a beautiful woman's name but isn't so captivating for those who love a Red: even if dishevelled by these times of desolate mediocrity."

The report continued, with Tuttosport citing research they claim shows that Ferrari and Antonelli now share support evenly in Italy.

"Market research has shown that Ferrari and Antonelli now split the fan base evenly - in fact, the young man is gaining ground. Or perhaps he’s already overtaken him," the report claimed.

"There’s talk of about ten million fans. One can only imagine the engineer giving his staff a piece of his mind, with a grimace visible behind his dark glasses: “Where were you? Why didn’t we sign him?”

'Kimi Mania' in Italy

Tuttosport claims that a pivotal race in the birth of 'Kimi mania' was the Italian Grand Prix in September, where the young Italian carved his way through the field to take the victory having started way down in P19.

"Kimi is taking over the Ferrari people," the Tuttosport report added. "Or rather, he's sharing the logic of the heart with that of reason.

"The victory at Monza told a new story: a people who, in the name of an Italian boy, rejoiced despite belonging to the team you can't root for. It was 'Kimi mania'.

Ferrari would 'love' to see an Italian leading iconic team

Of course, most feel that Antonelli will one day end up a Ferrari driver, which would be perfect for the Scuderia.

It's something that Ferrari vice chairman Piero Ferrari opened the door to earlier this year, too.

"I'm not a hypocrite; who wouldn't love to see an Italian behind the wheel of a car bearing my father's name?" Ferrari told il Resto del Carlino.

"And I imagine that, given his roots, the boy from Bologna wouldn't mind either. Maybe one day it will happen, why not?"

For now, though, Antonelli is a Mercedes man, and some of the Italian media even took a jab at Ferrari after his title win, with the front page of La Gazzetta dello Sport, reading: “Kimi Antonelli is a Formula 1 world champion. Thanks to his talent, his car & not having raced in Ferrari”

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