Is 'disruptor' Antonelli winning hearts in Ferrari's Italy?

Kimi Antonelli has been hailed as a generational talent in Formula 1; the driver who can end the 73-year wait for an Italian world champion.

In March, Antonelli became the youngest-ever championship leader when he sealed victory in Japan at 19 years, seven months and four days.

And he has stayed there ever since.

This weekend, Antonelli arrives at the Italian Grand Prix with a 59-point advantage at the top of the standings after winning six races so far this year.

There is just one small issue: the young star drives for Mercedes, not Italy's beloved Ferrari.

"Ferrari is my heart," says Thomas, who is Monza born and bred, to BBC Sport at the circuit on Friday.

"It's a religion," says Emanuele, who is at the grand prix with his daughter, Matilde. "In Italy, we do support other teams and other sports, but there is only one Ferrari."

Ferrari isFormula 1 in Italy; natives joke that the position of Scuderia team principal is just as important as the identity of the Pope.

So, with fans flocking to worship at the Temple of Speed, just how doItalians feel about Antonelli battling Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc for race wins and the drivers' championship?

When a Ferrari driver triumphs in F1, the team's spiritual home of Maranello rejoices.

"It's like the second coming effectively; everyone's in the streets singing, dancing, church bells are ringing. It's a party in the streets," says Adrian Hussain, who is a member of the Scuderia Ferrari Club Silverstone and half-Italian.

Those famous bells last rung out in honour of a Ferrari world champion in 2007, when Finn Kimi Raikkonen won his only title by a single point.

Italy has not produced a world champion driver since Alberto Ascari claimed back-to-back titles for Ferrari in 1952 and 1953. For most Italians, seeing a title winner draped in il Tricolore - for any team on the grid - has been a dream rather than a reality.

But Antonelli's ascendancy this year has opened the door for Italy to embrace a new hero - even if he does drive for the direct competition.

"Antonelli is disrupting the traditional rules of fandom in Italy," Giulia Toninelli, a journalist for La Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy's most widely read sports newspaper, tells BBC Sport.

Toninelli says Antonelli's "strong personality" has won over the Italian public, especially the younger fanbase. "And the fact that he is racing for Mercedes matters very little to them."

In the fanzone at Monza, a household is divided. While Alessandro is decked out in Ferrari red, his girlfriend, Emma, is wearing the silver of Mercedes.

"Of course, I am a little bit of a Ferrarista because I'm Italian. But honestly, I love Kimi, I support him," says Emma.

If Antonelli does win this year's world title, with the season finale possibly being held at Imola, about 25 miles from where he grew up in Bologna, both Emma and Alessandro agree it would mean "Italy is back on top".

Five-time MotoGP race winner Marco Melandri and 2012 GP2 series champion and F1 TV's Davide Valsecchi present the Chiacchiere da Box, external (Paddock Chatter) podcast, where the two ex-racers discuss and analyse everything that's happened during F1 and MotoGP weekends.

"I think Kimi is living the dream, even of the Italian fans," says Italian Melandri. "But in Italy, a lot of people are very close to Ferrari, they are pushing for Ferrari. So sometimes they are fighting themselves to understand, to choose who is their favourite driver. But I think Kimi is doing something amazing."

Compatriot Valsecchi feels the same: "We are loving it. It's a big surprise for everyone, knowing that an Italian driver, so young, is leading the championship, is driving so well, and is mentally so strong. So, at the moment, everything is perfect for us."

Antonelli has been a Mercedes protege since he was 11 years old.

After just one season in Formula 2, Silver Arrows team principal Toto Wolff fast-tracked him into the seat vacated by seven-time world champion Hamilton in 2025, after the Briton left to join Ferrari in a blockbuster move.

Antonelli's introduction to F1 last year was a steep learning curve, and after a bruising European leg of the seasonthat featured four retirements and only three points, he finished his debut campaign seventh in the championship.

Mercedes have made sure to put an arm around Antonelli whenever there has been a mishap. When the then 18-year-old crashed during his very first practice session in Monza two years ago, Wolff was straight on the team radio with five soothing words: "All good, Kimi. All good."

"I think Kimi is in the right place at the moment," says Toninelli. "Mercedes is a family he has known for a long time, one that has nurtured him as a driver and given him a level of protection that would be impossible for him to have at Ferrari right now."

Being separated from the sometimes "extreme" Italian fanbase can only work in Antonelli's favour, believes Valsecchi.

"Sometimes in Italy, we lack a bit of patience," he says. "We just push for you when you are strong and then underline with red pen every time as soon as you make little mistakes.

"For this reason, as a rookie, it is better to be away and to be on another side, and then come to Ferrari only when you are a big man with already a championship and a complete driver."

If Antonelli does clinch his maiden title this year, he will surpass four-time winner Sebastian Vettel as the youngest driver in Formula 1 history to become world champion.

German Vettel was 23 years and 134 days old when he claimed his first title in 2010. Antonelli would be three years younger.

If that happens, Daniele, who is enjoying Monza with his two sons, Tommaso and Demis, says they will feel "so-so" about Antonelli's victory.

"We support Hamilton and Leclerc - we support Ferrari," says Daniele emphatically, although youngest son Demis, while still loyal to the Scuderia, is an Antonelli fan, whispering the Mercedes driver is "really good".

"I'm happy for Kimi, of course. But I'm not supporting him like Ferrari, because Ferrari is up there," Thomas adds, gesturing high into the air.

Antonelli has already rewritten the history books this season, becoming the youngest driver to take pole position, converting it into his first victory in China in March, before becoming the youngest driver to win the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix.

An engine-related retirement in Barcelona and a 15th-placed finish at Silverstone have been the only real blips of Antonelli's campaign, up until Monza's grid penalty as a result of taking a new power unit, which means he will start at the back in Sunday's race.

While his title lead has ebbed and flowed in recent races, a victory in Belgium, plus podiums in Hungary and Zandvoort, has given Antonelli a decent buffer to Mercedes team-mate George Russell and Hamilton, who are both level on 183 points.

"It would be very nice to have an Italian driver in Italian colours winning races and championships," says Hussain. "Everybody within the club, certainly in our group chats, everyone's supportive of Kimi winning races. There's no animosity towards him."

Melandri, too, thinks Antonelli driving the red car could happen somewhere along the line. "It should be a dream to see Antonelli get a victory in Ferrari in the future. That's for sure," he adds.

At the drivers' news conference at the Belgian Grand Prix in July, after Antonelli had been hanging out with tennis' five-time Grand Slam champion and compatriot Jannik Sinner, BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson asked Antonelli who, out of the two of them, is more famous in Italy.

His light-hearted reply was rapid. "It's Charles," he said, pointing to Ferrari's Leclerc sat next to him. "He's probably the most famous man in Italy right now."

Monegasque Leclerc has become the surrogate son of the Scuderia since his arrival in 2019, carrying the hopes of the tifosi on his shoulders for the past eight seasons.

Fluent in Italian and deeply embedded in Ferrari's culture, the 28-year-old, who has won twice at Monza, signed a new long-term deal with the team in June, and has said his desire to be the driver that delivers success back to Maranello is what fuels his title ambitions.

But with just nine wins for the team in 162 grands prix, doubts as to whether Leclerc is truly the chosen one for Ferrari might be starting to creep in.

"I start to see, after many years, for the first time, some fans start to say, maybe he's not as strong as we think before, because Hamilton is doing better than him, and Antonelli is doing much better with another car," says Melandri.

With Antonelli hamstrung by his grid drop this weekend, Ferrari have a head start on their rival. If he does manage to recover and finish in the top three, would a Scuderia one-two accompanied by some Antonelli magic be the ideal race result?

"Of course, sharing the podium with a Ferrari would make it even more special, but regardless of that, he will have the full support of his fans," says Toninelli.

"Part of the Italian audience may indeed favour Ferrari over Kimi, while another section may feel the opposite, but that won't stop the Italian celebration at Monza, which will bring both fanbases together."