Kimi Antonelli's dad has already cleared up Ferrari chat and view on Toto Wolff apology
Kimi Antonelli's sights have been set on driving for Mercedes since he first joined their junior programme, according to his dad Marco.
Kimi Antonelli’s dad has already made clear his dedication to Mercedes. The 18-year-old was officially confirmed as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Silver Arrows have shown a lot of faith in the young Italian driver, who’s been a part of the junior programme since 2019. That’s despite growing up just a matter of miles away from Ferrari’s Maranello base, having been born in nearby Bologna.
While Antonelli did hold talks with the Prancing Horse prior to joining Mercedes, his dad Marco insisted he’s never looked back since. Asked if there’d been contact with them after the Monaco Grand Prix in May, he told Italian outlet Fanpage: "Absolutely not since he joined the Mercedes Academy.
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“He was racing with the Ferrari brand when he made his karting debut and at the time there was Massimo Rivola (now CEO of Aprilia Racing in MotoGP) as head of the Ferrari Driver Academy who wanted to include him in the program straight away.
“But then they told him he was too young to make an assessment. That was the only time there was contact with Ferrari, so we're talking about before I received that call from Mercedes."
Marco, a racer himself who twice competed in the European Touring Car Championship, carefully weighed up the decision to accept Mercedes’ initial proposal five years ago, knowing how ruthless motorsport can be.
But the call has been vindicated in the years since, with the 60-year-old delighted at how his son has progressed under Toto Wolff’s tutelage - even when the team principal felt he’d mismanaged Antonelli earlier this year.
Wolff held his hands up and admitted that he regretted exposing him so much in the media. But Marco doesn’t believe that’s a problem for his son, who he backs to block out the noise around him.
"Kimi doesn't feel this pressure because he's focused on his goal which is to win races,” he added. “And so I don't have to do anything to protect him because there's no need."
