By: Nine out of 10 Italians woke up this morning asking themselves: "Did that really happen?". Well, yes: Andrea Kimi Antonelli has conquered Italy, doing it his way with a feat he – and we – will remember forever.
A genuine magic, the kind that defies any search for logic because, ultimately, there is none, finding its meaning instead in the pure talent of the person able to produce it. The Italian driver – who started 19th on the grid – thus becomes the fourth Italian to triumph at Monza after Farina, Ascari and Scarfiotti, 60 years after the latter.
Italian pride
A comeback worthy of a film, culminating in a podium with a surreal atmosphere: the anthem sung at the top of their lungs even by that sea of red which, despite yet another disappointment, could not help but celebrate at the sight of the tricolour up there, higher than everyone else. Never mind that the winner was wearing the overalls of Ferrari's lifelong rival.
Italy therefore stops once again to applaud the 20-year-old from Bologna, who has shown that he has broad shoulders – very broad shoulders – to carry a country that no longer minds if it struggles to stay afloat in football. It is a prospect that does not frighten Kimi, not least because he has plenty of company with whom to share the burden of responsibility: from Jannik Sinner to Marco Bezzecchi, via Federica Brignone and the Tamberi-Jacobs duo. It would be impossible to name them all.
Athletes – but above all decent young people – with honest faces, who continue to remind us that being Italian is something to be proud of. Because there are victories worth trophies, titles and medals; others worth an entire season. And then there are achievements that go straight into the history of Italian sport.
Thank you, Monza; thank you, Kimi. Thank you, Italy.
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