It’s golden hour over Miami’s Design District, and Kimi Antonelli—the 19-year-old Italian driver currently atop the Formula 1 leaderboard—steps out of a Sprinter van into the half-light. Some of the people around us seem to have stumbled upon this moment accidentally (I hear a woman behind me say, “I should really start paying attention to F1”); others are waiting with phones and uncapped Sharpies for autographs at the ready.

Antonelli is here for a panel discussion with the watch specialists IWC Schaffhausen, a sponsor of his legendary team, Mercedes-AMG Petronas, and time is tight—or, rather, planned down to the minute, because this is F1—so he makes the selfie stop quite brief before he’s shepherded into IWC’s boutique by security.

Antonelli is at the edge of a new wave—and a new generation—in Formula 1’s rapid recent evolution. In this rising cohort: 20-year-old Ollie Bearman, 21-year-old Isack Hadjar, 21-year-old Gabriel Bortoleto, and 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad. Antonelli, though, has been emerging as this vanguard’s shining star. Earlier this year, in Shanghai, he became the youngest Grand Prix winner in Formula 1 history—and the fact that he’s sitting in the pole position early in the season speaks for itself.

“I mean, wow, yeah, it’s great to think about that,” he says, out on the boutique’s sun-drenched balcony. “But there’s still so much ahead, not behind. The main goal is to be successful in motor sport until the day I cannot race anymore. And I hope this is in many, many, many years.”

And of turning 20—you know, that big milestone—later this year? “Twenty, already…” he says with a faint smile. “It’s going to be pretty cool.”

Antonelli cuts a slight figure, even by F1’s fairly petite standard. He wears a cord necklace, fastened tight as a choker, with a silver whale tail charm. “I got this seven or eight years ago, when we were on vacation as a family in Sardinia. My mom bought it for me and I’ve been wearing it ever since. In Italy, they say the tail of a whale brings good luck.”

Like so many F1 drivers, Antonelli is obsessed with everything and anything automotive and competitive. He started karting at the age of seven, showing early prowess. In 2019, Mercedes-AMG signed him as a junior driver at the age of just 12, and he steadily worked his way up, making his F1 debut last year, replacing none other than Lewis Hamilton (who moved to Scuderia Ferrari).

“Even when I disconnect, I still want to be driving something, always,” he says, grinning again. His father, Marco Antonelli, has a (non-F1) racing team of his own that uses Mercedes-AMG GT3 cars, and “I do some testing with those,” Antonelli says. “And I like to drive my simulator. But if it’s not driving, I like to play tennis and padel. I also really like bowling.”

Going into the Miami Grand Prix this weekend, the Mercedes-AMG team is in a prime spot: While Antonelli leads, teammate George Russell is in second place. But it’s also been an unusual Formula 1 season so far, with two races, normally held in Bahrain and in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, canceled due to the war in Iran and the subsequent safety risks in the Gulf region.

Antonelli is fairly mum on the disruption, saying it “felt weird to have such a long break early on,” over which he mainly spent time at home in Italy. “But, definitely, I’ve been trying to make the best out of it. I’ve been training a lot, trying to get up to good shape. I’m ready to get back to it.”