From over 70 years of the Italian Grand Prix to how ‘Il Canto degli Italiani’ has become a staple of the podium speakers, few nations have as rich a history in Formula 1 as Italy.
One of the European powerhouses of motorsport, the roll-call of over 80 names of Italians to have started a grand prix includes some of the most romantic and revered to grace the grid: Fagioli, Ascari, Farina, Bandini, De Angelis.
But while Italy has produced more grand prix drivers than any other nation aside from Great Britain, it is approaching two decades since the last time an Italian driver stood on the top step of a Formula 1 podium – Giancarlo Fisichella in the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Over the last 20 years, 10 Italians have participated in at least one grand prix weekend: Luca Badoer, Gianmaria Bruni, Giancarlo Fisichella, Antonio Giovinazzi, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Raffaele Marciello, Georgio Pantano, Enrico Toccacelo, Jarno Trulli and Davide Valsecchi. Despite this list of talent – including two grand prix winners among them – none of these nine reached F1’s upper echelons, nor did they become the undisputed darling of the Italian fans during their time in the sport.
Some nations seem to galvanise behind any F1 driver they have – especially breakthrough talents. Zandvoort’s race may as well be called the Max Verstappen Grand Prix, while the same could be said of his team mate Sergio Perez in Mexico.
Italy is different. For Italy is Ferrari – and Ferrari is Italy. The team now known as RB may be based up the road in Emilia-Romagna, but the Maranello team’s drivers receive the most adulation whenever the sport visits Monza or Imola.
But this weekend in Monza, a new name joins the grid that many expect will remain on it for several years into the future: Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The 18-year-old is the focus of enormous attention not because of his country’s long wait for a competitive driver, but because he looks destined to be bestowed the honour of being the driver to replace seven-times Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, following a meteoric rise through the junior ranks.
Many of the 10 Italian F1 drivers who went before him arguably never got the chances they deserved to truly show what they were capable of. That is unlikely to be Antonelli’s fate. Whether his performances may give the Tifosi something to cheer about besides their beloved Ferraris remains to be seen.
The 10 Italian drivers who came before…
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