Guenther Steiner is convinced Kimi Antonelli will drive for Ferrari one day. The former Haas team principal said that the new world champion could make the move "tomorrow if he wants", though he does not expect it any time soon.

Antonelli, 20, is under contract with Mercedes until at least the end of 2027 after the team took up an option on his deal. Italy now has a world champion who does not race for Ferrari. Maranello, meanwhile, is still dealing with the fallout from the clash between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in Mexico.

Steiner sees a Ferrari move as a question of when

Steiner, himself an Italian, admitted that people back home keep asking why Antonelli is not in a red car. "That's the only not-so-perfect thing for Italy, that there is an Italian champion not driving for Ferrari," he said.

He thinks the switch is a long way off, and pointed to Antonelli's age as the reason Ferrari can afford to wait: "Will it be short term? No. It will be maybe 10 years out. But at some stage, obviously, as an Italian with this talent, he will get there."

In the meantime, Steiner expects Antonelli to keep collecting titles: "I'm pretty sure he will win a few more world championships."

Ecclestone and Barrichello make the same prediction

Steiner is not the only one saying it. Bernie Ecclestone said: "Ferrari has no choice, it must take him." The 96-year-old added that "if he continues to win, and I am convinced he will, he will move to Ferrari out of love for his country." Rubens Barrichello, who also drove for Ferrari, told La Gazzetta dello Sport that the 20-year-old would find Maranello hard to resist.

Ferrari have not shut the door either. In October, vice-chairman Piero Ferrari told Quotidiano Sportivo that existing contracts have to be respected. He still added: "Maybe one day it will happen, why not?"

Not everyone thinks Antonelli should go. Hans-Joachim Stuck told Eurosport Deutschland: "If I were in Antonelli's shoes, I wouldn't make the switch for now."

Ferrari's own driver pairing is still under scrutiny

Speculation about Antonelli is growing at an awkward time for Ferrari. In Mexico, Hamilton and Leclerc fought each other on the opening lap and Max Verstappen took the win. Fred Vasseur then held an hour-long meeting with both drivers in Brazil, and Leclerc said afterwards: "Now I feel that everything has been resolved." Even so, Italian journalist Giorgio Terruzzi has accused Vasseur of seeming detached from the crisis.

In the short term, neither Ferrari seat is free. Hamilton's contract as running until the end of 2027. In September, GPblog reported that he could stay until 2028, and that Leclerc has a multi-year deal running beyond that. Ferrari are getting close to two decades without a drivers' champion. The last Italian to race full-time for the team was Michele Alboreto in 1985.