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is capturing the hearts and minds of Italian motorsport fans at the same time the pressure continues to build on Lewis Hamilton. Antonelli was ushered in as Hamilton's replacement at Mercedes and the teenage sensation has enjoyed a strong start to life with the constructor.

His talent was best displayed last time out when he for the sprint race. The 18-year-old wasn't able to carry that form over to Sunday's main event, eventually finishing sixth in the standings, but it hasn't stopped 'Kimi-mania' from sweeping across the world of Formula One.

Not least amongst the hoards of Italian fans, who are used to cheering on the Ferrari drivers instead. That hasn't stopped the tifosi from slowly but surely warming to Antonelli, though.

It's something explained by compatriot Vicky Piria, who told Sky Sports: "There's a lot, a lot, a lot of excitement for Kimi. I think Italians did not expect him to be this fast, to be also this charismatic, to also really shows his Italian origins.

"He's taking lasagna for the whole team on Thursday for them to eat. That is something that Italians will love. I think that a lot of focus is switching onto Kimi. I think there was anticipation for Kimi, but I think the tifosi did not absolutely expect Kimi to be so fast and so charismatic. So now it's just like a Kimi-mania, especially after his pole position in Miami."

By contrast, the crown jewel of Italian motorsport, Ferrari, currently find themselves in a bit of a rut. Six races into the 2025 season, and they're still without a race win this year, with Charles Leclerc's third-place finish at the Saudi Grand Prix the closest they came. Brutally, Ferrari have had more disqualifications this term than they've had podium finishes.

Commenting on the increased scrutiny around Ferrari's performance, Piria added: "The excitement was huge, but then everything kind of got worse and worse because Miami was pretty bad for Ferrari. The gap between McLaren and Lewis was a minute, so that definitely was something that Italians did not expect.

"I think Fred [Vasseur], since he started his journey in Ferrari, he's always been really careful of keeping expectations down to earth. But this year it was different, everybody was really excited. Now everybody is obviously a bit disappointed."

Racing resumes from Italy this weekend for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.