Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner believes an alliance between 2026 F1 world champion Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari is practically an inevitability, although it won’t happen anytime soon.
When the 20-year-old Mercedes prodigy clinched the drivers' crown in Mexico City earlier this month, he shattered a 73-year Italian title drought stretching back to Alberto Ascari’s coronation with the Scuderia in 1953.
And with Italy finally celebrating another world champion, the prospect of its newest sporting hero one day wearing red has become an irresistible talking point.
Steiner – currently plying his trade as team principal of Tech3 in MotoGP – believes the connection between Antonelli and Ferrari is ultimately too compelling for the House of Maranello to ignore.
Speaking with RacingNews365, Steiner laid bare the underlying tension gripping Italian motorsport while framing Antonelli’s eventual migration south as a matter of pure gravity.
“Some people [in Italy] ask why he is not driving for us,” Steiner remarked. “That’s the only not-so-perfect thing for Italy; that there is an Italian champion not driving for Ferrari.
“But I think at some stage… Think about it, he’s 20 years old. He’s so young, so at some stage, in my opinion, he will drive for Ferrari.
“Will it be short term? No. It will be maybe 10 years out. But at some stage, obviously, as an Italian with this talent, he will get there.
“I would turn it around. They will get him. He could go tomorrow if he wants.”
By flipping the conventional transfer narrative on its head, Steiner suggests the Scuderia holds zero leverage over the timeline – the ball rests entirely in Antonelli's court, and Ferrari will simply have to bide its time until the prodigy decides his work in Brackley is finished.
Brackley’s unbreakable bond
For now, however, the newly minted champion has zero intention of entertaining Maranello’s allure.
Contracted to Mercedes through at least the end of 2027, Antonelli has repeatedly batted away whispers of a crimson switch, addressing the frenzy head-on during the Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza back in September.
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“Being an Italian myself, I know how emotional we are and how excited we can get about things,” Antonelli noted at the time. “Sometimes overly excited. So, of course there will always be this kind of talk.
“But at the end of the day, as much as Ferrari is a massive, incredible brand, I’m very happy where I am. I’m very happy with Mercedes because they’re the ones who gave me the opportunity since I was a kid, and I feel like I have so much to give back to them.”
Having ascended through the Silver Arrows' junior ranks from the age of 11 to rewrite the record books in only his second campaign, Antonelli remains fiercely loyal to his benefactors.
If Steiner's instincts prove true, Ferrari will have to watch its native son build a dynasty in silver and black before those the golden gates of Maranello finally swing open.
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