Teen Phenom Kimi Antonelli Is Shunning Social Media To Avoid ‘as Many Distractions as Possible’ Before Canadian Grand Prix

The city of Montreal finds itself caught between two high-stakes dramas this weekend: the Canadian Grand Prix and a very public labor revolt within its local adult entertainment industry that was timed to draw attention from the city’s most lucrative tourism event.Formula 1 teen phenom Kimi Antonelli, 19, who is chasing his fourth consecutive victory, has arrived at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve just as Montreal strippers are launching a coordinated strike to protest exploitative working conditions.“We think the grand prix is the best time to strike,” read a statement from the Sex Work Autonomous Committee. “The clubs are at their busiest, making it the most lucrative period of the year for our boss. This is our chance to threaten that income and affect them when it hurts the most.”Mr. Antonelli is keeping his blinders on, attempting to avoid all outside distractions. That includes voluntarily cutting out social media, a move practically unheard of for a generation otherwise glued to their cell phones.Three straight wins — the last coming three weeks ago in Miami — have given Mr. Antonelli a commanding lead in his quest to win his first Formula 1 title and he has opted to cut away from social media and other distractions on race weekends.“Social media, I don’t look at all during the race week,” he told reporters in Canada. “I try to avoid as many distractions as possible, because all I want is just to try and be as focused as possible on the goal of the weekend.”Mr. Antonelli has more than six million followers on Instagram where he takes them behind the scenes of his life from shopping to training techniques to what he eats and moments during race day.He has seen the dark side as well. He was reportedly the target of abuse and death threats after the Qatar Grand Prix last year when he was passed by Lando Norris for a crucial position, a mistake that had implications in Mr. Norris’s title fight with Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.Stung by the backlash, Mr. Antonelli intentionally limits his social media interaction, especially this season when his own title aspirations are taking shape.“I know expectations are very high now, especially after this strong start of the year, but I try not to worry too much about it, and not get carried away from it,” he said. “I just try to focus on what I have to do, trying to be determined and also enjoying the weekend, enjoying the driving. If I do these things well, which is also staying present in every moment, a good result will come.”Mr. Antonelli holds a 20-point lead over his Mercedes teammate George Russell, the preseason title favorite. Mr. Russell won the opening race of the season at Melbourne, but Mr. Antonelli has stolen his thunder with victories in China, Japan and Miami to compile 100 points, while Mr. Russell has finished second, fourth and fourth to total 80 points.“Obviously, the first win felt like breaking the ice and just stepping up and unlocking a new level of reaching the ultimate goal, which is the championship,” Mr. Antonelli said. “It’s going to be very hard to achieve because it’s still a very long season.”Despite his early success, there is one area where Mr. Antonelli knows he needs improvement: his starts.In Australia, he dropped from second to seventh on the first lap. In China and Miami, he sank from first to second and in Japan he dropped from the pole to sixth. Mr. Antonelli hopes a change to the paddle in his car will deliver a better start in Canada. “The team has been working very hard on the software side and on the clutch side, just to try to find more performance and make the system more robust,” he said.The other top teams, McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari, will also implement upgrades in Canada in hopes of closing the gap on Mercedes.Meanwhile, strippers in Montreal may be skipping work to cheer on Mr. Antonelli. The strippers planned a Saturday strike, demanding a healthy working environment and confirmation they are not self-employed.According to reports, the Canadian Grand Prix attracted a record attendance of 352,000 in 2025, and strippers complain they must deal with increased bar fees, overbooking and a lack of security during the busy weekend.“F1 is not only a symbolically important time for a sex work strike, but also a materially important time,” read the statement by SWAC, a political organization to improve working conditions for all sectors of sex work, including strip clubs, massage parlours, and street-based work. “We must disrupt these exploitative labor practices where our management employs them the heaviest, and profits from them the most. It’s up to us to fight for the working conditions that we deserve.”Whether the weekend is defined by Mr. Antonelli’s focus on the track or the city’s historic labor disruption at strip clubs, Montreal is set for a collision of speed and sex appeal.

Teen Phenom Kimi Antonelli Is Shunning Social Media To Avoid ‘as Many Distractions as Possible’ Before Canadian Grand Prix

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