Kimi Antonelli started the WEC race in Imola.

      The audience in the stands of the Enzo and Dino Ferrari International Autodrome greeted Kimi Antonelli, the 19-year-old Mercedes driver, with applause as he was entrusted with an important mission today – to start the "6 Hours of Imola," the first round of the WEC season.

      For Italian fans, this was not a surprise, as it was known in advance that the winner of the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix, who is leading in the World Championship standings, would wave the starting flag. However, the way the Imola crowd welcomed him was yet another manifestation of the passionate love that tifosi always have for their heroes.

      Kimi appeared in the paddock of the famous Italian racetrack early in the morning and immediately found himself in the center of attention. He greeted the crowd chanting "Kimi! Kimi! Kimi!" and tossed signed baseball caps into the audience. Witnesses of these events noted that Antonelli seemed to enjoy what was happening – it can be assumed that he is still not used to the status of the new idol of Italian fans.

      During the traditional performance of the national anthem, Kimi sang along with everyone, then waved the Italian flag and started the race, which was begun from pole position by the No. 51 Ferrari factory team crew.

      At the moment, there are two hours left until the finish, and the Toyota Racing hypercar, driven by Rio Hirakawa, is in the lead, but Ferrari, currently driven by Alessadro Pier Guidi, is less than five seconds behind. However, there is still a third of the distance to go, so much can still change.

      By the way, more than 90,000 fans are watching the events on the track from the stands of the Imola racetrack.