It’s golden hour over Miami’s Design District, and Kimi Antonelli—the 19-year-old Italian driver at present atop the Components 1 leaderboard—steps out of a Sprinter van into the half-light. A few of the folks round us appear to have stumbled upon this second by accident (I hear a girl behind me say, “I ought to actually begin taking note of F1”); others are ready with telephones and uncapped Sharpies for autographs on the prepared.
Antonelli is right here for a panel dialogue with the watch specialists IWC Schaffhausen, a sponsor of his legendary group, Mercedes-AMG Petronas, and time is tight—or, somewhat, deliberate right down to the minute, as a result of that is F1—so he makes the selfie cease fairly transient earlier than he’s shepherded into IWC’s boutique by safety.
Antonelli is on the fringe of a brand new wave—and a brand new era—in Components 1’s fast latest evolution. On this rising cohort: 20-year-old Ollie Bearman, 21-year-old Isack Hadjar, 21-year-old Gabriel Bortoleto, and 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad. Antonelli, although, has been rising as this vanguard’s shining star. Earlier this 12 months, in Shanghai, he turned the youngest Grand Prix winner in Components 1 historical past—and the truth that he’s sitting within the pole place early within the season speaks for itself.
“I imply, wow, yeah, it’s nice to consider that,” he says, out on the boutique’s sun-drenched balcony. “However there’s nonetheless a lot forward, not behind. The primary objective is to achieve success in motor sport till the day I can not race anymore. And I hope that is in lots of, many, many years.”
And of turning 20—, that huge milestone—later this 12 months? “Twenty, already…” he says with a faint smile. “It’s going to be fairly cool.”
Antonelli cuts a slight determine, even by F1’s pretty petite commonplace. He wears a wire necklace, mounted tight as a choker, with a silver whale tail attraction. “I bought this seven or eight years in the past, after we had been on trip as a household in Sardinia. My mother purchased it for me and I’ve been sporting it ever since. In Italy, they are saying the tail of a whale brings good luck.”
Like so many F1 drivers, Antonelli is obsessive about every little thing and something automotive and aggressive. He began karting on the age of seven, exhibiting early prowess. In 2019, Mercedes-AMG signed him as a junior driver on the age of simply 12, and he steadily labored his method up, making his F1 debut final 12 months, changing none apart from Lewis Hamilton (who moved to Scuderia Ferrari).
