Kimi Antonelli does not need luck. Last year his promotion to the second seat at Mercedes looked premature and he was exposed on occasion, but he thoroughly absorbed every lesson and is a deserved leader of the title race. But fortune has favoured him too, whether indirectly – such as the catalogue of agonies suffered by his teammate George Russell, who would otherwise be far closer in the standings than 66 points – or directly, as was the case with a red flag and a virtual safety car in last Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, which enabled him to turn 19th place on the grid into a win.
Antonelli does not hesitate to credit Toto Wolff and the rest of the Mercedes team, not just for producing the car. The biggest decision was promoting an 18-year-old into the seat for last season, but even in smaller ones they have been vindicated, such as choosing Monza, with its openings for overtaking, as the venue for Antonelli to take the penalties for utilising new power unit components.
But with Antonelli winning in such unpropitious circumstances, the title race – which looked as if it could open up after Lando Norris’s back-to-back wins – could soon be a procession. Maybe what F1 needs right now is a new track to spice things up.
