Kimi Antonelli is on the verge of becoming Italy’s first Formula 1 world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

Antonelli won the US Grand Prix on Sunday to extend his lead over teammate George Russell to 123 points with only 125 still in play. That means he only needs to finish in the top nine in Mexico to seal the championship.

Before this year, Italy hadn’t even had a race winner since Giancarlo Fisichella in 2026. But Antonelli has taken nine victories in an extraordinary season, putting him just four short of Ascari’s national record.

Toto Wolff has seen Ferrari fans looking ‘confused’ after Kimi Antonelli’s rise

Much has been made of the dilemma facing Italian fans, so many of whom have been unflinchingly loyal to Ferrari.

Now that the country has a true F1 superstar again, they may be questioning their allegiances.

Kimi Antonelli closes in on championship victory, but the battle for second is heating up 🔥With five races remaining, who do you think will come out ahead?

Antonelli strengthened his bond with the Italian fans by taking a remarkable victory at Monza in September, having started 19th.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said that win ‘confused’ the Ferrari fans in attendance. He’s expecting Antonelli merchandise to disrupt the customary sea of red next year.

Wolff initially suggested that Antonelli’s dominant victory in Austin, where he won by over 13 seconds, was his best performance of the season.

“My problem is that I don’t remember past races,” Wolff said. “So now you’re saying Monza was actually also pretty good, obviously with the advantage of the home crowd and seeing all these tifosi that were a little bit confused, wearing red, and an Italian with the Mercedes outfit up on the podium.

“And I think we’re going to see more Kimi caps, Mercedes caps next year.

“So both of them were pretty good. But the headline that this is the best, we can keep.”

Ferrari have improved this year after a winless 2025, but there is still an air of disappointment around their campaign.

While Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have taken one victory apiece, it feels as if the full potential of the SF-26 hasn’t been realised. It briefly seemed as if Ferrari could challenge in both championships but they squandered any chance of putting Mercedes under pressure through poor execution.

Fred Vasseur’s team have a strong grip of second place in the constructors’ standings, but their title drought will reach 19 years. Indeed, Antonelli was only one when namesake Kimi Raikkonen won the world championship.