That year, the delayed World Championship unfolded under relentless downpours, much like this weekend. Antonelli, then a double European Champion—a rare feat for a driver aged just 13 or 14—arrived in Portugal as the title favorite. Backed by AMG Mercedes, the young Italian was already marked as a future star.
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Antonelli back in 2020—a great year in karting, but also marked by a horrific crash
Starting from the front rows, Antonelli got caught in a first-lap pile-up that dropped him to the back of the field—outside the top 25. He was attempting a comeback when disaster struck in the most terrifying way possible for a karting driver: a high-speed collision with another kart in near-zero visibility.
Maya Weug—now a Ferrari Driver Academy talent leading the F1 Academy standings after the Miami round, but then competing with Birel ART in the OK category—had spun and re-entered the track sideways. As fate would have it, Antonelli was at full throttle, overtaking another driver at that very moment. While the kart ahead managed to swerve clear, Antonelli could not avoid a direct hit. The impact was brutal. Weug was thrown from her kart but miraculously escaped injury. Antonelli wasn’t as fortunate—his left foot and leg became trapped in the twisted chassis, the steering column bending so severely it wrapped around his leg. Emergency crews worked meticulously to free him before he was rushed to hospital, where he was diagnosed with fractures to his left tibia and metatarsal. After surgery and a grueling recovery, Antonelli made his comeback in 2021, debuting in the KZ category with a stunning pole position at the World Championship. A clear signal: the future still belonged to him.
