New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nWith upgrades on their way this weekend, how Ferrari does at its home race could be indicative of its odds of closing those gaps and winning its first drivers title since 2008 or first constructors championship since 2007.<\/p>\n
But a percentage of those usually loyal tifosi may be hoping those margins don\u2019t shrink too much.<\/p>\n
The man Hamilton \u2014 and Russell, Lando Norris and maybe even Charles Leclerc \u2014 is chasing is Andrea Kimi Antonelli.<\/p>\n
Antonelli, who celebrated his 20th birthday just last week, is Italy\u2019s greatest hope of ending a national shame for the proud racing nation.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been exactly 60 years since, precisely to the day, since an Italian last won their home grand prix. Ludovico Scarfiotti was the last man to do it, winning the 1966 event from second on the grid \u2014 and in a Ferrari.<\/p>\n
The bigger picture paints an even longer, more meaningful drought.<\/p>\n
Not since 1953 has an Italian won the drivers world championship. Alberto Ascari was the last, winning the title in 1952 and 1953; the only other is Giuseppe Farina, the inaugural world champion in 1950.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been 72 years since Italy claimed the drivers champion, and Antonelli is well positioned to prevent that streak from stretching into a 73rd year.<\/p>\n
So you can understand why Italian fans might feel conflicted this weekend as they stream into Autodromo Nazionale Monza, around 30 km north of Milan.<\/p>\n
History is on the line.<\/p>\n
Brilliant Marquez wins Aragon MotoGP | 01:02<\/p>\n
THE \u2018KICK UP THE BUTT\u2019 THAT MADE A CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER<\/p>\n
Antonelli was asked in July, just before the halfway mark of the season, whether he or five-time grand slam champion Jannik Sinner was more popular in Italy.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore famous in Italy is Charles,\u201d he laughed, pointing to the Ferrari driver sitting next to him.<\/p>\n
Monegasque Leclerc has long been known by the nickname Il Predestinato \u2014 literally \u2018the predestined one\u2019 \u2014 in the Italian media and among Ferrari fans in general. A product of the Italian team\u2019s junior program, he cemented his reputation with a gutsy victory at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix after seeing off future teammate Lewis Hamilton.<\/p>\n
But Leclerc\u2019s title-winning destiny has been held ransom by a string of underwhelming Ferrari cars. Italy\u2019s adopted son has won just nine times from 162 Ferrari starts \u2014 the same as Oscar Piastri\u2019s victory tally from half as many races \u2014 for a best season result of a distant second in the championship.<\/p>\n
Ironically the man best placed to make good on that promise comes from a team that\u2019s spent most of the last decade beating Leclerc and his Ferrari team.<\/p>\n
Mercedes spied Antonelli\u2019s potential before his 12th birthday, signing him to a junior contract while he was still dominating the kart racing scene.<\/p>\n
It had such faith in his speed that he was promoted directly from Formula 4 to Formula 2 and, halfway through the latter, given his first Formula 1 contract to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025.<\/p>\n
It was an almost personal gamble by team boss Toto Wolff, and it nearly came off the rails.<\/p>\n
Antonelli was impressive early in the season, with regular scores and even a sprint pole in Miami. It raised expectations for his performance in Europe, at tracks that would be better known to him.<\/p>\n
Instead he floundered, scoring just three points in nine rounds \u2014 bizarrely punctuated by a maiden podium in Canada.<\/p>\n
Part of his problem was a badly aimed Mercedes suspension upgrade that threw him badly off his rhythm, but some of it was between the ears too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI let the pressure kind of destroy me,\u201d he told the Significant Figures podcast. \u201cI felt like I was letting down so many people who had believed in me \u2014 especially Toto, because he was the main one who took the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t feel good in that period, I wasn\u2019t doing well, but then I had a big meeting with the team after the European season, and it kind of allowed me to reset and just start again.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time he described it as a \u201ckick in the butt\u201d that helped him to snap out of his funk.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt also made me learn a lot about myself, not only as a driver but as a person as well,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve learned about how my body responds to those moments, how my brain responds, what helps me get back into the right focus, the right mindset \u2026 what helps me to stay 100 per cent in terms of energy during the whole weekend, so how to manage myself with events, obviously the driving and everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned a lot about myself, and how as well to respond to difficult moments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt the learning curve was incredible \u2014 it felt like doing three years at once, and it was overwhelming, physically, mentally, because I\u2019ve had so many new experiences as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now he talks about revelling in the moment rather than stewing in the pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you understand that you also have to enjoy as well, it makes the difference,\u201d he told the F1 website.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt helps you to \u2026 I feel like at least in my case \u2026 drive more relaxed, enjoy more the driving, feel more the car, and then the performance just comes much easier.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of when you\u2019re like chasing it and you\u2019re driving tense, it\u2019s a big difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to be yourself and always focusing on the goal and always also [trying] to see the positive, even in the bad situation \u2014 even when something goes bad, there\u2019s always a positive. That can be found and that can help you to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bezzecchi smashes all-time lap record | 00:53<\/p>\n
THE ENGINE GAME<\/p>\n
A 59-point lead with, officially, 11 rounds remaining \u2014 though likely only 10 \u2014 puts Antonelli in a commanding position.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s especially the case when no one driver has emerged as his challenger.<\/p>\n
On paper teammate Russell should be that driver. With six seasons more experience under his belt, including three as a victory contender with Mercedes, he was the preseason championship favourite for a reason.<\/p>\n
But luck derailed the Briton early, and he\u2019s struggled to match Antonelli for pace ever since, ill at ease in the 2026 car that appears to have muted some of his strengths.<\/p>\n
Hamilton instead rose, and for four of the last seven rounds sat an unlikely second in the championship. Reliability has been his strength, the seven-time champion the only driver to have completed every racing lap this season.<\/p>\n
But Ferrari has been his weakness. The car wasn\u2019t close to winning races in the opening six rounds, and though he stormed to top spot in Barcelona, execution and a lack of straight-line speed \u2014 more the former than the latter \u2014 have cost him and the team chances to meaningfully eat into their deficits.<\/p>\n
This weekend, though, that narrative may flip.<\/p>\n
Antonelli will be fitted with a fresh engine, but he will pay the price for earlier unreliability and be forced to start the grand prix from the back of the grid.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s disappointing for him and for the fans who want to see him fighting from the front in his home race,\u201d team boss Wolff said. \u201cBut our sport doesn\u2019t reward sentiment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you make decisions that benefit the championship campaign, sometimes you pay a short-term price.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe objective now is straightforward: recover as many places as possible and maximise the points.\u201d<\/p>\n
Monza has been chosen because the extra grunt of a new engine will help Antonelli to make up places, but it\u2019s also the right time to add another motor to his pool to ensure he can make it to the end of the season without needing another penalty.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s my home race and all that kind of stuff, but I think it\u2019s the best race to do so,\u201d Antonelli said. \u201cI think it still will give me a chance to do a great result and bring home good points.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Ferrari drivers will be fitted with fresh engines too, but both have headroom in their allowances for the year to take them without penalties.<\/p>\n
But these aren\u2019t just fresh engines. They\u2019re upgraded ones.<\/p>\n
Ferrari is pulling the trigger on its second of two permissible engine updates this season, and this one is focused on its lacking internal combustion engine.<\/p>\n
Reports in the Italian media suggest the team is hoping to halve the estimated 22 kW power gap to Mercedes while also improving its energy recovery characteristics.<\/p>\n
This upgrade is a step in the bigger changes planned for next season, when Ferrari is allowed another two power unit revisions under the sport\u2019s concession rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt represents a step in the right direction, and as we know, this year is very much about marginal gains,\u201d Ferrari principal Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Vasseur said. \u201cMonza is a demanding circuit and the field is extremely close, and our priority will be to execute every aspect of the weekend as well as possible, from Friday onwards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to draw extra motivation from the passion of our home crowd and give our tifosi a strong weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller to leave Pramac at seasons end | 00:35<\/p>\n
FERRARI\u2019S TITLE PUSH<\/p>\n
The significance of Ferrari\u2019s engine upgrade should not be underestimated. Engine performance is the single biggest deficit between it and Mercedes, and the German marque is unlikely to be in a position to respond despite having one upgrade concession of its own \u2014 the team is at the limit of engine parts for the year and appeared less prepared to be given a concession in the first place.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no exaggeration to say how Ferrari does this weekend will be indicative of the reality of its championship hopes.<\/p>\n
But it won\u2019t be about the result. Similar to Antonelli facing a lower performance ceiling due to his penalty, Ferrari is expecting a tough weekend.<\/p>\n
The engine upgrade will shrink its deficit on straight-line performance but not close it entirely. It still expects to be relatively weak in this area \u2014 and straight-line performance is pretty much the only kind of performance that counts at Monza.<\/p>\n
The Temple of Speed is mostly straight lines, with only chicanes and three medium-speed corners to break them up.<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s true that slow-speed performance has been a Ferrari strength this year, this track is \u2018energy starved\u2019 in the parlance of 2026 engines \u2014 that is, the engines need way more electrical power than they can get through recharging.<\/p>\n
It means every car will effectively run out of power long before the end of every straight.<\/p>\n
The more efficient the hybrid components \u2014 linked but not directly to combustion power \u2014 the quicker the lap time.<\/p>\n
Mercedes still has Russell in the fight at the front with the class-leading power unit.<\/p>\n
With its old-spec engine, Ferrari would be locked out of the victory battle. It doesn\u2019t expect that door to open wide this weekend, but if it\u2019s even somewhat ajar, that could mean a great deal for the more conventional tracks still to come this year.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s especially true given the team intends to continue bringing car upgrades for the rest of the season \u2014 as opposed to Mercedes, which believes it has only one big upgrade left in the tank before it runs out of budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe strategy is that we will continue to push until the end,\u201d Vasseur told Autosport. \u201cWe have a plan. We have no issue with the cost cap; we are following the plan and will continue like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Ferrari victory would be an obviously popular result for the home crowd given the tempered expectations.<\/p>\n
An Antonelli victory \u2014 or even a podium \u2014 would be similarly feted given where he\u2019s set to start.<\/p>\n
But the bigger picture for both is where they end up at the last weekend of the season in December.<\/p>\n
History will be made for Italy no matter the outcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The partisan Italian Grand Prix crowd will have divided loyalties this season. Ordinarily there\u2019s no doubt about the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":879165,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-879164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=879164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/879165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=879164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=879164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=879164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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