The youngest champion in F1 history, and the move everyone in Italy is waiting for
Champion: practically yes, but not yet official. Antonelli won in Austin on Sunday (25 October) and was made to wait at least a week for the title. With five races to go, he is 123 points ahead of his nearest rival, with a maximum of 125 points still available. He clinches the title in Mexico next Sunday if he finishes anywhere in the top nine. That would make him F1's youngest champion in only his second season, and the first Italian world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953. Even a bad weekend in Mexico only delays it.
Ferrari: possible in the long run, unlikely in the short run.
- Contract: he is still under contract with Mercedes through 2027 and is seen as a key long-term figure for the team.
- Ferrari's interest is open: Italian rumours point to Ferrari wanting him for 2028. Piero Ferrari has said he would welcome him, while acknowledging that existing contracts must be respected.
- Antonelli himself: he does not rule out a future move to Ferrari, but says his current goal is to win as much as possible with Mercedes.
- Mercedes' position: Toto Wolff replied that Kimi has been a Mercedes driver since he was 11 and that Ferrari should have done the job six or seven years ago.
My view: the real obstacle is not Ferrari's appetite but the logic of the situation. Mercedes is the dominant car under the 2026 rules, and Mercedes has backed him since he was a child. A newly crowned 20-year-old champion has no sporting reason to leave a winning car for a Ferrari that is going through a troubled second half of the season. A move is more plausible after 2027, and then only if Ferrari closes the performance gap or Mercedes falls back. The emotional pull of an Italian champion in red is real, but it is a story for 2028 and beyond, not for now.