Mercedes chairman Ola Kallenius has revealed how he used to ‘hate’ one F1 tradition because of Michael Schumacher until Kimi Antonelli arrived on the scene.

The comparisons between Michael Schumacher and Kimi Antonelli have certainly ramped up a notch since he clinched the 2026 F1 title on Sunday, with those who worked closely with the seven-time world champion detailing just how similar the young Italian is.

Antonelli’s determination and composure remind Alessandro Benetton of Schumacher’s key traits, while race engineer Peter Bonnington believes the newly crowned world champion is as much of a generational talent as the German legend.

Remarkably, Antonelli and Schumacher have also been greeted with the same national anthems following their race-winning feats in F1. The German and Italian national anthems have returned to the podium together this year, which has led Mercedes chairman Ola Kallenius to appreciate them once again.

Mercedes chairman Ola Kallenius used to ‘hate’ hearing the Italian and German national anthems in F1

During an appearance alongside Toto Wolff on the OMR Podcast, the Swedish-born executive revealed details of Antonelli’s addition to the Brackley-based crew’s line-up in 2025, as well as how impressed he has been by the 20-year-old’s professionalism in F1.

After addressing claims that Antonelli wasn’t ready for a front-running drive during his rookie campaign last year, Kallenius said: “In the second season, you can see that it was definitely the right decision.

“But what struck me about Kimi, when I spoke to him on the phone on Tuesday evening, is that he’s 20 now. I mean, 20 isn’t really an age; you’re talking to an extremely well-organised person who, for his age, radiates something that very few people have.”

Kallenius then shared an anecdote from a previous conversation he had with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who played an integral part in Ferrari’s success with Schumacher during the Scuderia’s golden era of the early 2000s.

“I said to Stefano Domenicali that I used to hate the combination of the Italian and German national anthems at Formula 1 races, because an icon of motorsport – even though he started out at Mercedes and then moved on – drove for Ferrari.

“That was Michael Schumacher,” he said, before going on to add how Antonelli’s success with the Silver Arrows this year has completely changed his feelings towards the tradition: “Now, I love it – the combination of the Italian and German national anthems.”

In between Schumacher’s and Antonelli’s respective exploits that earned them the right to listen to the Deutschlandlied and Il Canto degli Italiani back-to-back on the podium, the only other driver to experience it is Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel won a total of 14 races for the Scuderia during his tenure at Maranello, but with Antonelli already on nine wins so far for Mercedes, it might not take too long for him to overtake the German in that respect.