Kimi Antonelli will join Mercedes but admits his heart belongs to Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel. Andrea Kimi Antonelli admits his heart belongs to Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel.

His contract ties him to Mercedes, but Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s heart has belonged to Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel for years. The young driver from Bologna, who will take the wheel of the Brackley car next year, shared this at the Festival dello Sport in Trento. It’s a highly anticipated debut for one of the stars who could shine in the future of Italian motorsport.

The heart wants what it wants; true feelings are pure and free from any contractual ties. Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Formula 1 debut will be with Mercedes, and it’s only natural that the Italian prodigy is connected to the colors of Brackley. The Silver Arrows discovered him, nurtured him, and are ready to put him on the grid as one of their own: his “fatherly” affection for Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is only natural.

But who knows, when the young driver from Bologna finds himself side by side with a Ferrari, he might dream for just a moment of being behind the wheel of the Italian car, an Italian driver in an Italian machine. Just wishful thinking, of course, at least for now. No one would ever dream of criticizing him if he ties his name firmly to Mercedes. Yet, as we said, the love was there.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli confirms it himself, sharing a childhood story involving a “mug” of Sebastian Vettel: “Let’s just say that, yes, since I’ve been with Mercedes, I’ve supported Mercedes,” the 18-year-old rookie said. “But when I was little, I have to say I was a Ferrari fan, and I especially supported Sebastian Vettel. I even had one of his mugs, which I’m not sure if we still have at home, simply because I liked him as a driver.”

The German, after a career of winning World Championships at Milton Keynes alongside Red Bull, became Ferrari’s captain in their chase of Mercedes between 2015 and 2019, before Charles Leclerc’s arrival. And who knows, maybe one day the young Brackley prodigy might decide (or manage) to follow in his footsteps.

Source: f1ingenerale