Time names Antonelli among the 100 most influential people in the world of sport 2026

Everyone is talking about Antonelli

After accompanying Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the prestigious Monte Carlo podium, Toto Wolff had immediately asked the Italian press to keep their diamond grounded: “Don’t make too much fuss about him there in Italy, let’s continue with great humility“, the Austrian had emphasized to Sky Italia.

But the popularity of the world championship leader has already crossed the thresholds of Formula 1 to reach a more generalist audience in our country: one only had to look at the front pages of the newspapers on Monday morning to see how Corriere della Sera, la Repubblica, la Stampa, il Messaggero, il Mattino, il Giornale, il Secolo XIX dedicated ample space to Antonelli on their front pages (equal to that dedicated to the Roland Garros tennis final). Not to mention Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere dello Sport, Tuttosport and Quotidiano Sportivo, which dedicated their entire front page to Antonelli’s triumph in Monaco.

And now also Time…

Yesterday, the website of Time named the 100 most influential people in the world of sport 2026, dividing them into “icons”, “titans”, “innovators” and “leaders”.
Among the leaders we find Andrea Kimi Antonelli, “who never stops winning and setting new records“, described as “the 19-year-old Italian prodigy chosen to replace seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes”.
Under icons we also find Lando Norris, 2025 world champion, because “he is transcending the world of racing, with 1.8 million followers on Twitch and his involvement with Gen Z fans”.
Broadening the spectrum from F1 to the wider motorsport universe, also present are Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan for NASCAR, Susie Wolff for F1 Academy, Carson Hocevar also for NASCAR and Amna Al Qubaisi, the first woman in the Pro category of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia.

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