Kimi Antonelli arrives at Monza’s Italian Grand Prix as the Formula 1 championship leader, but the Mercedes driver is challenging a long-standing tradition in a country where Ferrari remains the sport’s dominant team.

Antonelli has won six races this season and holds a 59-point lead at the top of the drivers’ standings. The 20-year-old Italian is also seeking to become the country’s first Formula 1 world champion since Alberto Ascari won back-to-back titles with Ferrari in 1952 and 1953.

His success has prompted some Italian fans to support Antonelli despite his Mercedes affiliation. Giulia Toninelli, a journalist for La Gazzetta dello Sport, said his personality had particularly appealed to younger fans.

“Antonelli is disrupting the traditional rules of fandom in Italy,” Toninelli told BBC Sport. She added that Mercedes’ role mattered little to some supporters.

Ferrari remains central to Italian F1 fandom

Ferrari’s place in Italian sporting culture remains strong. Fans at Monza described the team as a constant part of their identity, with one supporter calling Ferrari a “religion.”

The last Ferrari world champion was Kimi Raikkonen, who won the title in 2007. Italy has not had a world champion driver since Ascari’s successes more than seven decades ago.

That history means Antonelli’s rise has created a divide for some supporters. Some fans are backing the young Italian, while others continue to prioritise Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

Marco Melandri, a five-time MotoGP race winner, said Antonelli was “living the dream” of Italian fans, although many remained strongly attached to Ferrari. Davide Valsecchi, a former GP2 champion, also praised the excitement generated by an Italian driver leading the championship.

A Mercedes environment away from the pressure

Antonelli has been a Mercedes protege since he was 11 and was promoted to the team’s race seat for 2025 after Hamilton left for Ferrari. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has supported him through the difficulties of his early Formula 1 career.

Valsecchi said being outside Ferrari could benefit Antonelli because Italian fans can be impatient when drivers make mistakes. Toninelli similarly argued that Mercedes had provided Antonelli with a protective environment that would be more difficult to find at Ferrari.

Antonelli has already become the youngest driver to take pole position and the youngest to win the Monaco Grand Prix. He also won in China in March, becoming the youngest-ever championship leader at 19 years, seven months and four days.

However, he will start Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix from the back of the grid after receiving a penalty for taking a new power unit.

Could Antonelli and Ferrari unite Italian fans?

Some supporters say they would welcome an Antonelli title, even if it came with Mercedes. Others still dream of seeing him drive for Ferrari in the future.

If Antonelli wins the championship, he would become the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history, surpassing Sebastian Vettel’s record. A title success would also give Italy its first world champion since Ascari.

Toninelli said an Antonelli podium alongside a Ferrari would be an especially popular result at Monza, but believed both groups of fans would celebrate the Italian driver regardless.

“Part of the Italian audience may indeed favour Ferrari over Kimi, while another section may feel the opposite,” she said. “But that won’t stop the Italian celebration at Monza, which will bring both fanbases together.”