Bologna-born Kimi Antonelli races at Imola, 20 miles away from his home city, for the first time as a Formula 1 driver this weekend, but boss Toto Wolff won’t be there to see it
Formula 1 will race in Europe for the first time in 2025 this weekend, but one famous face from the paddock won’t be there to see it in person. Toto Wolff has not made the trip for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
It is the second time this season that the Mercedes chief has been absent from a race, having also skipped the Japanese Grand Prix. In his place, the team’s communications chief Bradley Lord will assume many of his responsibilities.
Wolff’s absence means he will not be there to witness the team’s teenage prodigy, Kimi Antonelli, race in Formula 1 on home soil for the first time. The young Italian is from Bologna, around 20 miles north-west of the small town of Imola.
And that means the locals will have more than just the Ferrari cars to cheer on this weekend. Antonelli is sure to get a strong reception from the crowds at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, as Italy’s first F1 driver since 2021 and only the country’s second since 2011.
His team-mate George Russell sent him a special public message ahead of this weekend’s festivities. The Brit wrote on social media: “Enjoy your first home race mate, will always be a special one!!”
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Antonelli has made an impressive start to life on the F1 grid. And the highlight came last time out in Miami, when the youngster qualified on pole for the Sprint race – becoming by far the youngest to do so in any format in F1 history.
But a victory has, in these early rounds of his debut season, eluded him. He was unable to convert that pole into a win in the Miami Sprint, losing several places on the first lap before a collision with Max Verstappen in the pit lane cost him further.
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The fairytale story would, of course, be if he were to secure that maiden victory at his home race this weekend. But F1 TV pundit Davide Valsecchi has warned that the locals may not be happy about it if it comes at the expense of Ferrari success, even though Antonelli is one of their own.
Discussing the prospect of an Antonelli win, he said: “In Italy, you can imagine! It’s going to be huge and it’s also better for him because Ferrari is not performing so well. You know, in Italy, the Tifosi are strange.
“We are all for Ferrari, and sometimes in the past some Italian drivers in Imola, they were booed because they were beating Ferrari in the past. So, it’s better also for him that Ferrari is average at the moment, so he can have the support of all the Italian fans.”
Lewis Hamilton will race in front of those Tifosi as a Ferrari driver for the first time this weekend. His team-mate Charles Leclerc has done it many times before, but missed media day on Thursday through illness. Ferrari expect him to be well enough to be back in action for practice on Friday.