At just 18 years of age, Kimi Antonelli has already started writing his chapter in the F1 history books. At the 2025 Miami GP, last weekend, the Mercedes driver became the youngest-ever pole-sitter in the sport after clinching the sprint pole.
Naturally, the Italian racing ace has dedicated his entire life to motorsport. And within the F1 folklore, Antonelli idolizes the legendary Ayrton Senna. In fact, his choice of race number – #12 – is an ode to the three-time world champion who sported it on his McLaren in 1988 when he secured his maiden world title.
Antonelli recently sat down with his Silver Arrows teammate, George Russell to answer some questions for the Brackley-based team’s YouTube channel. Russell asked him to name his sporting GOAT from outside the world of motor racing.
“I would say Michael Jordan,” replied Antonelli.
His reverence for the six-time NBA champion came after watching Jordan’s documentary on Netflix titled ‘The Last Dance’. Antonelli revealed that he was most impressed by the now 62-year-old’s mindset and ability to carve a name for himself without the aid of social media, etc.
“I watched ‘The Last Dance’ on Netflix. Amazing. And I really got amazed by his mindset and his level of competitiveness. Like it’s really impressive also getting so popular without like social media. It means how much of a figure he was,” he added.
Russell reminded Antonelli that Jordan owns a NASCAR team. Jordan founded the 23XI Racing team back in 2020 with 2010 NASCAR Cup Series runner-up, Denny Hamlin—and is now embroiled in a bitter legal tussle with the sport’s sanctioning body.
Last season, the team won the Regular Season title with driver, Tyler Reddick. Antonelli revealed that it is his ambition to one day go and watch Jordan’s team race in the Cup Series. “It’s crazy, it’s cool. Yeah, I mean I want to see, I want to go and see [them race] one day,” he said.
It’s fascinating to hear that Antonelli, who was not even born when Jordan ruled the NBA courts, now idolizes the GOAT of basketball. Of course, historical archives, social media, and his Netflix documentary have played a huge role in preserving Jordan’s image as one of the best sportspersons in the world.
The 18-year-old racing prodigy has already equaled his idol’s fame in terms of the Netflix clout. Antonelli, too, has his own Netflix documentary now titled ‘The Seat’ which charts his journey from the lower categories of racing all the way up to his F1 debut with Mercedes.
Inspired by the biggest driver change in F1 history.
“ THE SEAT ” – now available on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/VcL5ULVOtH
— Antonelli. (@italianspeeder) May 6, 2025
However, the Italian prodigy has a long way to go to etch a legacy, which can come near that of Jordan’s. He is a name that is synonymous with basketball, just like Michael Schumacher in F1. Even the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are still a tad bit off that legendary status.
So, for Antonelli, scaling these heights is only possible on a statistical level—like Hamilton and Verstappen—but attaining an eternal image of being the greatest of all time like Jordan or Schumacher could be a bit far-fetched.
