Luca Baldisserri defends Kimi Antonelli: “Italy lacks a true motorsport culture”
Former Ferrari engineer Luca Baldisserri spoke on Criticalive following the criticism aimed at young Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, defending the Italian talent while reflecting on Italy’s broader motorsport culture and addressing the wave of social media backlash.
In yesterday evening’s episode of Criticalive, the program welcomed engineer Luca Baldisserri, a key figure in Ferrari’s technical team during the Michael Schumacher era. During the discussion, Baldisserri expressed strong disapproval of the harsh comments that Kimi Antonelli received following the incident with Charles Leclerc, which led to the rookie’s race retirement.
The main topic of the week was the young Mercedes driver. Despite a bright start to the season, the summer months did not match the performances seen in races such as Miami or Canada. Many questioned whether Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff made the right decision by selecting a 19-year-old rookie as Lewis Hamilton’s successor.
Baldisserri intervened in defense of the Bolognese driver, condemning the wave of online hate directed at Antonelli, while also explaining why his performances have slightly dipped compared to the outstanding race he delivered in Melbourne.
Luca Baldisserri: “Italy does not have a motorsport culture”
Having spent many years in the motorsport world, Luca Baldisserri has experienced different racing cultures around the globe. He concluded that Italy is still behind other countries in terms of motorsport understanding.
Baldisserri was not at all surprised by the negative comments aimed at Kimi Antonelli. “Kimi was a young driver with limited experience. He arrived there with a tyre that had grip, believed he could do it, but ultimately didn’t succeed. Italians often think they have a motorsport culture. In reality, they are mainly Ferrari fans. So, these reactions are unfortunately quite normal,” explained the engineer.
Most of the critical comments came from Charles Leclerc’s fans, mainly Italian, although users from other countries also chimed in. This highlights that while Formula 1’s audience is expanding globally, it also attracts viewers with limited knowledge of the sport, leading to toxic fan reactions from some quarters.
“As a supporter of Kimi and Italian drivers in general, it’s painful to see these reactions, but I believe Kimi understands them too,” Luca Baldisserri continued. The discussion then shifted to analyzing why the 19-year-old’s performances have declined compared to the promising start to the season. Here is the Ferrari engineer’s insight:
“There are many possible reasons. He started well, so I don’t think it’s because he was placed in a high-performance car at a young age. I believe it’s more about pressure and the Verstappen incident. That may have destabilized him.”
Mercedes also defends Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes Head of Communications, Bradley Lord, spoke on the team’s official YouTube channel about the rookie’s recent struggles. He reminded fans that this year is a learning period for Antonelli. After all, the driver skipped F3 and, following just one year in F2, he naturally needs to gain experience and learn from mistakes.
“I think while people were making mid-season assessments, Kimi received some criticism for things not going perfectly. We have been very clear from the start. This is a learning year for him. He arrived very early. We know there will be mistakes, but what we are looking for are signs that he is learning, gaining experience, and developing as a Formula 1 driver,” concluded Lord.
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