Steiner says Antonelli 'should be in a Ferrari' after historic Monza victory

Guenther Steiner has declared that Kimi Antonelli “should be in a Ferrari” after the Mercedes driver delivered a stunning comeback win at the Italian Grand Prix, starting 19th on the grid and becoming the first Italian to triumph at Monza in 60 years.

Antonelli’s seventh career victory extended his lead in the drivers’ championship to 66 points over team-mate George Russell, with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton a further 10 points back in third.

Steiner, the former Haas team principal, reflected on the 20-year-old’s performance during an appearance on The Red Flags Podcast, arguing that Antonelli’s nationality makes his current team an awkward fit with Italian fans.

“Ferrari is the national team, and everybody’s rooting for it, and now this kid comes along and there was no Italian driver,” Steiner said. “It’s 60 years since the last time an Italian won [at Monza]. It’s a long time and you forget how to win. And obviously, for Kimi, being in a Mercedes doesn’t help him to get popular.”

Steiner drew a football analogy to illustrate the tension between Antonelli’s heritage and his employer. “Mercedes is the biggest opponent of Ferrari, and he drives there. So, you still hope my team wins, but this kid in that other team is this Italian guy. Plays in another football team and he’s pretty good.”

“I think he deserves it [more fans]. What he does is extraordinary and he should be in a Ferrari. That would be the ideal world.”

Antonelli now turns his attention to the Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring circuit, where he set the fastest times in both FP2 and FP3 and was second-quickest in FP1 behind Russell, suggesting his championship momentum shows no sign of slowing.