(Motorsport-Total.com) – Italy famously had no reason to celebrate at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA. Instead, two exceptional talents from other sports are generating enthusiasm among the Tifosi: while tennis player Jannick Sinner crowned himself the youngest Wimbledon winner, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli dominates Formula 1.
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It has been a long time since Italy had so much reason to celebrate in the premier class: Antonelli could become the first Italian Formula 1 world champion in more than 70 years. Alberto Ascari secured the world championship titles in 1952 and 1953, while Giuseppe “Nino” Farina went down in history as the first Formula 1 world champion in 1950.
Since then, the Tifosi could only rejoice over the World Championship successes of their Scuderia. All the greater is the current enthusiasm for the meteoric rise of the only 19-year-old Antonelli. Geronimo La Russa, President of the Automobile Club d’Italia, is also impressed by the Mercedes driver’s performance.
Italian GP as a “great celebration in national colors”
“Kimi Antonelli confirms himself as an exceptional talent,” says La Russa. “And if further proof were needed, a new record underlines the young driver’s talent: with his sixth season victory in Belgium, he equals the legend Ascari, who achieved the same number of triumphs in a single Formula 1 season in 1952.”
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No wonder then that all of Italy is eagerly awaiting the home race in Monza, which, according to La Russa, “will be a great celebration in national colors.” Hopes for a home victory are high: with Antonelli and the two Ferrari drivers, Italy has several irons in the fire and thus the best prospects for exuberant celebratory scenes at the Tifosi’s home race.
“Another extraordinary Sunday for the Italian colors,” adds the president of the motorsport association, referring to the Belgian Grand Prix, “enriched by the great performance of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, which increasingly makes our country the ‘absolute protagonist’ of Formula 1.”
“The value and strength of this young talent from Bologna,” concludes Geronimo La Russa, “are measured not only by the extraordinary results on the track this year, but also by the emotions and pride he awakens in the hearts of spectators every weekend: The national anthem increasingly crowns his sporting successes.”
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