Formula One racing may or may not be on your radar these days (“Formula what? Formula who?” you’re saying now), but the other day something fairly significant, and even historic, happened.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli clinched the world championship.
He’s not a high school kid, But he’s not much beyond it, either.
At 20, he’s already in his third season in F1, which kinda officially makes him a prodigy. And, at 20, he’s the youngest F1 champion by a staggering three-plus years.
Know what else?
He!s also the first Italian driver to win the F1 title in 73 years.
Hard to believe? Of course it’s hard to believe.
I mean, you’d have thought Enzo Ferrari would have put fellow Italian in one of his smokin’ Italian Ferraris enough times in the 73 years to put an Italian atop F1 before now. But, nah. Hasn’t happened since 1953, when the great Alberto Ascari won the title in, yes, a Ferrari.
Ascari and Giuseppe Farina, by the way, were the only Italians to win an F1 title before Antonelli came along. Again, hard to believe.
Not anymore. Antonelli won five straight Grand Prix early in the season and nine of the first 19 to outdistance the field. He’ll likely do it again before he’s done, given what an early jump he’s gotten.
Hats off to him. And to youth, once again served.
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