MEXICO CITY, Oct 27 - Ferrari fans can only imagine what might have been had local boy Kimi Antonelli signed for their team rather than Mercedes as a young go-karter.

Formula One's oldest and most successful team had the chance to secure the talent now set to become Italy's first champion in 73 years, and Formula One's youngest ever, but let it slip through their fingers.

Mercedes seized the opportunity instead in 2018, when Antonelli was 11.

"For Ferrari, Kimi was still too young whereas Mercedes could offer better guarantees regarding his future prospects," Antonelli's former manager Giovanni Minardi told the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper earlier this year.

Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, who was no longer involved with the team at that point, saw a silver lining.

"I am a Ferrari man but I'm delighted to see what Antonelli is doing," he told Spanish newspaper AS last month. "What I do regret is that Ferrari had the chance to sign him. They didn't.

"A great opportunity vanished, but almost better for Antonelli. Such a young Italian driving a Ferrari... It would have been terrible pressure."

Mercedes team boss and co-owner Toto Wolff credited Gwen Lagrue, who is joining Red Bull next year to run their young driver programme, for bringing Antonelli, now 20, on board.

He said also that people did not appreciate the amount of work that has gone into nurturing the team's successor to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

"I read an interview with Piero Ferrari last week where he said, 'What a talent. He reminds me of Niki Lauda'. And I'm thinking, 'People don't get that this is the work of nine years'," the Austrian told reporters after Antonelli won last Sunday's US Grand Prix in Austin, his ninth win of the season.

"The development of nine years, the hardship of nine years, the integration of the team, the working with the engineers, the 10 or more millions spent in the development of his career, of his ability, of his character together with his parents.

"It's just not that it landed like this."

Wolff recalled how others said Antonelli, after nine rounds without points last year, should not have been given the Mercedes seat.

He spoke of those at other teams who suggested the youngster should not even be in Formula One.

"All of that now is extremely satisfying, to see what he's able to deliver and how he's working with the team, with (race engineer Peter) Bono (Bonnington) and yielding the results. But it wasn't an easy road." REUTERS