Kimi Antonelli may have delivered a historic victory for Italy at Monza, but one moment during his remarkable charge from 19th place offered a revealing glimpse of where the Tifosi’s deepest loyalty still lies. When the Mercedes driver overtook Lewis Hamilton, BBC Sport journalist Lorraine McKenna reported that the grandstands became almost silent despite the Italian eventually being celebrated as the race winner.
The contrast captured one of the most intriguing themes surrounding the 2026 Italian Grand Prix. Antonelli arrived as Italy’s surprise championship leader and left as the first home driver to win at Monza since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966, yet Ferrari remained the team capable of generating the loudest emotional response from the crowd.
Tifosi loyalty tested as Kimi Antonelli catches Lewis Hamilton
Antonelli started only 19th after an engine penalty but carved his way through virtually the entire field on his route to victory. His comeback included an overtake on Hamilton, who by that stage was the only Ferrari still running after Charles Leclerc had crashed out.
That duel created perhaps the clearest possible test of the pre-race debate over whether Italian supporters might shift their allegiance towards Antonelli. The Mercedes youngster’s championship-leading form had raised the possibility that national pride could begin competing with the historic attachment to the Prancing Horse.
Instead, McKenna observed a striking change in atmosphere. From the media centre behind the start-finish straight, she had heard the grandstands erupt each time Hamilton drove past in the lone remaining red car. When Antonelli overtook the seven-time world champion, however, she noted that the noise almost disappeared.
The reaction did not mean the crowd was against Antonelli. Moments later, McKenna reported applause from those inside the building when the Italian produced another move on Oscar Piastri to take third place. The distinction suggested that Monza could enthusiastically celebrate Antonelli while still reserving its strongest instinctive support for Ferrari.
Kimi Antonelli makes Italian Grand Prix history at Monza
By the chequered flag, Antonelli had given the home crowd an achievement unseen for six decades. His victory made him the first Italian to win the Italian Grand Prix since Scarfiotti in 1966 and the first Italian driver to stand on the Monza podium since Giancarlo Fisichella in 2005.
The scale of the comeback from 19th only strengthened the importance of the result. A full analysis of Kimi Antonelli’s remarkable Monza victory also underlines how dramatically the Mercedes driver’s race contrasted with Ferrari’s difficult afternoon.
The result further elevated Antonelli’s rapidly growing status in Italian sport. Only 12 months earlier at the same event, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had characterised his performance as underwhelming after the youngster finished ninth following a penalty. Against that backdrop, the unexpected nature of Antonelli’s 2025 dominance has only intensified the attention surrounding his rise.
Ferrari support remains powerful despite Antonelli’s success
Before the Grand Prix, Antonelli himself had expected most Italian fans to continue supporting Ferrari rather than switch allegiance simply because an Italian driver was leading the championship. The crowd reaction during his battle with Hamilton appeared to support that view.
Hamilton ultimately finished sixth as Ferrari endured its poorest home Grand Prix since the double retirement of 2020. That disappointment only sharpened the contrast between the celebrations surrounding Antonelli and the frustration of the Tifosi over another difficult result for the Maranello team.
Yet the two forms of support do not necessarily have to be mutually exclusive. Monza showed that Italian fans could celebrate a home driver achieving something historic for Mercedes while still reacting most passionately to the sight of a Ferrari fighting on track.
Could the Ferrari-Antonelli dynamic change before Monza 2027?
Antonelli’s position could become even more significant if his championship campaign continues on its current trajectory. With the Italian closing in on the world title while Ferrari’s season continues to unravel, the balance between national support for the driver and traditional loyalty to the Scuderia may develop further.
For now, however, the evidence from Monza suggests Ferrari remains at the centre of the Tifosi’s allegiance. Antonelli may have conquered their home Grand Prix and earned their applause, but Hamilton’s presence in the last surviving red car produced a reaction that demonstrated how difficult generations of Ferrari loyalty are to displace.
The next chapters of that relationship will unfold through the remainder of the 2026 Formula 1 season, before Antonelli and Ferrari return to Monza in 2027 with the possibility of an even more fascinating home-support dynamic.
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