Motor racing-Mercedes spent millions on nurturing Antonelli after Ferrari said no

Formula One F1 - United States Grand Prix - Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas, U.S. - October 25, 2026 Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli celebrates on the podium after winning the United States Grand Prix alongside United States Senator Ted Cruz REUTERS/Jerome Miron

MEXICO CITY, Oct 27 (Reuters) - ⁠Ferrari fans can only imagine what might have been had local boyKimi Antonelli signed for their ⁠team rather than Mercedes as a young go-karter.

Formula One's oldest and most successful team had ‌the chance to secure the talent now set to become Italy's first champion in 73 years, and Formula One's youngest ever, but let it slip through their fingers.

Mercedes seized the opportunity instead in 2018, whenAntonelli was 11.

"For Ferrari,Kimi was still too young whereas ​Mercedes could offer better guarantees regarding his future prospects," Antonelli's former ⁠manager Giovanni Minardi told the Gazzetta dello ⁠Sport newspaper earlier this year.

Former Ferrari president Lucadi Montezemolo, who was no longer involved with the team ⁠at ‌that point, saw a silver lining.

"I am a Ferrari man but I'm delighted to see whatAntonelli is doing," he told Spanish newspaper AS last month. "What I do regret is that Ferrari had ⁠the chance to sign him. They didn't.

"A great opportunity vanished, but ​almost better forAntonelli. Such a young ‌Italian driving a Ferrari... It would have been terrible pressure."

Mercedes team boss and co-owner Toto ⁠Wolff credited Gwen Lagrue, ​who is joining Red Bull next year to run their young driver programme, for bringing Antonelli, now 20, on board.

He said also that people did not appreciate the amount of work that has gone into nurturing the team'ssuccessor to ⁠seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

"I read an interview with Piero ​Ferrari last week where he said, 'What a talent. He reminds me of Niki Lauda'. And I'm thinking, 'People don't get that this is the work of nine years'," the Austrian told reporters after Antonelli won last Sunday's US ⁠Grand Prix in Austin, his ninth win of the season.

"The development of nine years, the hardship of nine years, the integration of the team, the working with the engineers, the 10 or more millions spent in the development of his career, of his ability, of his character together with his parents.

"It's just not ​that it landed like this."

Wolff recalled how others said Antonelli, after nine ⁠rounds without points last year, should not have been given the Mercedes seat.

He spoke of those at other teams ​who suggested the youngster should not even be in Formula One.

"All ‌of that now is extremely satisfying, to see what ​he's able to deliver and how he's working with the team, with (race engineer Peter) Bono (Bonnington) and yielding the results. But it wasn't an easy road."

(Reporting by Alan BaldwinEditing by Christian Radnedge)

Thank you for your report!

一级方程式赛车（F1）——美国大奖赛——美国德克萨斯州奥斯汀美洲赛道——2026年10月25日，梅赛德斯车队的安德烈亚·基米·安东内利在赢得美国大奖赛后登上领奖台庆祝，美国参议员特德·克鲁兹也在场。（路透社/杰罗姆·米隆摄）

墨西哥城，10 月 27 日（路透社）——法拉利车迷只能想象，如果当地男孩基米·安东内利年轻时作为一名卡丁车手签约的是法拉利车队而不是梅赛德斯车队，那将会是怎样一番景象。

一级方程式赛车中最古老、最成功的车队本有机会签下这位天才车手，他将成为意大利 73 年来的首位冠军，也是一级方程式赛车史上最年轻的冠军，但却错失良机。

梅赛德斯车队在 2018 年抓住了这个机会，当时安东内利只有 11 岁。

“对于法拉利来说，基米还太年轻，而梅赛德斯可以更好地保证他的未来前景，”安东内利的前经纪人乔瓦尼·米纳尔迪今年早些时候告诉《米兰体育报》。

当时已不再参与车队事务的前法拉利总裁卢卡迪·蒙特泽莫罗看到了其中的积极一面。

“我是法拉利的球迷，但我很高兴看到安东内利现在的成就，”他上个月告诉西班牙《阿斯报》。“我感到遗憾的是，法拉利本来有机会签下他，但他们没有。”

“一个绝佳的机会就这样消失了，但对安东内利来说或许是件好事。一个如此年轻的意大利车手驾驶法拉利……那压力肯定非常大。”

梅赛德斯车队老板兼联合老板托托·沃尔夫将安东内利（现年 20 岁）的加入归功于格温·拉格鲁，她将于明年加入红牛车队负责年轻车手培养计划。

他还表示，人们没有意识到为了培养车队七届世界冠军刘易斯·汉密尔顿的接班人所付出了多少努力。

“我上周读到皮耶罗·法拉利的一篇采访，他说：‘真是个天才。他让我想起了尼基·劳达。’我当时就在想：‘人们不明白这是九年努力的成果。’”这位奥地利人在安东内利上周日于奥斯汀赢得美国大奖赛冠军后告诉记者，这是他本赛季的第九场胜利。

“九年的发展，九年的艰辛，团队的融入，与工程师的合作，以及与父母一起为培养他的事业、能力和性格而投入的1000万甚至更多资金。

“只是没想到会以这种方式落地。”

沃尔夫回忆说，其他人曾表示，安东内利去年连续九轮比赛没有获得积分，不应该获得梅赛德斯车队的席位。

他提到其他车队中有人认为这位年轻人甚至不应该参加一级方程式赛车。

“现在看到他所取得的成就，以及他与车队、与（赛车工程师彼得·）博诺（·博宁顿）的合作并取得的成绩，我感到非常欣慰。但这并非一帆风顺。”

（艾伦·鲍德温报道，克里斯蒂安·拉德内奇编辑）

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