Racing
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Valentino Rossi has thrown his support behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli rather than Ferrari in Formula 1’s 2026 title fight, a striking call in a country where Ferrari loyalty usually comes first.
Ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Rossi said Antonelli’s championship charge means more to him than backing Italy’s most iconic team. “You can imagine in Italy with Ferrari, that is like a religion,” Rossi told Sky Sports F1. “But I am more a driver fan. So I am with Kimi now.”
Rossi said Antonelli’s emergence has given Italy something it has not had for decades: a driver with a real chance of becoming world champion. “He’s a great talent. He has a lot of speed and in Italy we never have a Formula 1 driver that can win the championship in the last 70 years. So this is very special.”
That support comes as Antonelli has turned himself into the center of the championship battle. Across the opening part of the season he won five of the first nine races, then six of the first 10 after taking victory at Spa-Francorchamps, where he stretched his lead to 45 points over Lewis Hamilton.
Rossi’s stance carries extra significance because he is not an outsider to Ferrari’s world. He tested for the team in 2004 and 2005, during the period when talk of a switch from MotoGP to Formula 1 briefly followed him. Even with that history, he has chosen the driver over the national reflex.
The link is also personal. Rossi and Antonelli have been close for years, with the young Mercedes driver part of Rossi’s circle before his Formula 1 debut in 2025. They have spent time together during the winter break as well, including visits to Rossi’s Ranch and training sessions on iRacing.
If Antonelli does complete the job, Rossi sees it as more than a title win. It would make Antonelli only the third Italian Formula 1 world champion after Giuseppe Farina and Alberto Ascari, ending a wait that stretches back to Ascari’s last championship in 1953.