Formula 1 sensation Antonelli joins Italy’s mourners: ‘One more reason to fly the flag in my field’ | OneFootball

Kimi Antonelli has added his voice to the national outpouring of disappointment following Italy’s World Cup elimination, saying the failure gives him extra motivation to keep representing his country at the highest level in Formula 1.

The 19-year-old Mercedes driver, speaking to Sky Sport fresh from back-to-back victories in China and Japan, was asked for his thoughts on the Azzurri’s playoff defeat to Bosnia, and reflected warmly on what Italian football has meant to him personally.

“Obviously it is a shame that we are not going to the World Cup this year,” Antonelli said, with quotes via TuttoMercatoWeb.

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“I have a wonderful memory of the Euros, I remember being at a karting race in Sarno when Italy were playing, and after winning my race my mother and I rushed home as fast as possible because we wanted to watch the final. That was a really beautiful period.”

ZENICA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – MARCH 31: Players of Italy show their dejection of Italy during the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers KO play-offs match between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy at Stadion Bilino Polje on March 31, 2026 in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)

Antonelli mourns Italy World Cup absent as stark contrast revealed

The image of a teenage racing prodigy sprinting home to watch the Azzurri lift the trophy captures something of the hold football has on Italian sporting culture, even for those whose own careers lie elsewhere.

Antonelli’s comment that Formula 1 is “a sport for amateurs” compared to football, offered with obvious tongue-in-cheek, drew a smile, but his sincerity about the wider national mood was clear.

“It really disappointed me not to see the national team qualify for the World Cup,” he said. “It is one more reason to try to keep flying the flag for Italy in my own field.”

It is a sentiment that resonates at a moment when Italian sport is grappling with a painful paradox, a nation that excels across multiple disciplines, from tennis to athletics to Formula 1, yet cannot qualify its football team for the world’s biggest tournament.

For Antonelli, who has emerged as one of the most exciting young talents in motorsport, the burden of national pride sits comfortably on young shoulders.