Antonelli, ease like a phenomenon
So beautiful it doesn’t seem real. So unreal that it makes you think that Alessandro Zanardi, the champion adored by all who made the impossible possible, somehow gave him a push to travel towards the finish line with the ease and confidence of a seasoned champion, not a near-rookie.
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli suddenly made Italy discover it has a champion to dream about. Another Sinner raised within a family that allowed his talent to express itself without shocks, containing those exaggerations that in similar cases ruined everything. It had never happened before and precisely for this reason the surprise is great. And, consequently, the expectations are also starting to grow. But this is a discussion we can address later.
The reality is that Antonelli triumphed in Miami with the apparent ease of a phenomenon, based on three elements. First: there was the usual chaos in the first two corners and he managed to stay out of it. Second: he had to fight with phenomena like Leclerc and Norris and he did so without the slightest sign of being unsettled, with clinical overtakes. Third: he never had to resort to 100% of the potential of the Mercedes W17, so much so that he triumphed without showing his rivals how much margin he still had in his pocket. Those with talent race like this.
Hearing twice (splendid Gabriele Minì, F.2 dominator) the Mameli anthem in that equestrian circus called Miami was moving, something to remember. Unfortunately, on such a day, the cherry on top from Ferrari was missing.
Leclerc’s heroic race
“We can win“, Fred Vasseur said on Saturday. And we, tempted, believed it in the first five laps of Leclerc in the lead. After that, faith began to waver in the face of the evidence of Mercedes and McLaren (and also Red Bull) traveling at another pace and it was inevitable to have to console ourselves with Charles’ feats, like the one shortly after the start when he already kept his foot down forcing Verstappen – what a race he had! – to spin.
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Leclerc’s race was heroic as he was still third one lap from the end. Then the mistake that compromised everything, relegating him behind. But there is no point in dwelling on useless details: when Ferrari gives Leclerc a competitive car, the mistakes will disappear and title prospects will open up, since the driver is there. Otherwise, we will travel forever between postponed promises and missing horses, as if the fault (!) were of others who are stronger. Poor Hamilton, who unfortunately is replicating the unexciting pace of a year ago, suffered a collision in the race that damaged his car, but the Power Unit also suffered from excessive temperature which forced him to give up.
There is therefore much to fix in Maranello, even if the SF26 overall is certainly not to be thrown away. Meanwhile, McLaren has grown and Norris, second, can perhaps be reproached for never having tried the strike to attack Antonelli, although Lando’s speed was remarkable, so much so as to inflict a 24-second gap on his teammate, a very foggy Piastri. Same for Russell, knocked out by Antonelli with a 43-second gap which, with equal cars, is an abyss that will weigh heavily on the Englishman’s morale.
Once again there was a show, between real overtakes and plastic overtakes. But, at least, it seems that certain things are being fixed, sparing us those anxieties related to safety or the speed difference between attacking cars and others decelerating to recharge the battery.
And now, as spring advances, let’s enjoy two Sundays of rest. Then, after Canada, the Formula 1 season will really begin.
