Montezemolo, who was in charge at Ferrari from 1991 to 2014, praised Antonelli for his "maturity and composure" during his winning drive, but that it did "bother me a bit seeing him in a Mercedes."

However, the 78-year-old also conceded a move to Ferrari could have "destroyed" the young Antonelli, and offered some words of advice to his compatriot.

Speaking to Italian publication Corriere dello Sport, Montezemolo raved about Antonelli's performance in China before admitting he'd much prefer to see him in Ferrari red.

Montezemolo's response to whether would prefer to see him at Ferrari was blunt: “Exactly.”

However, he was wary of bringing Antonelli to the Scuderia at such a young age, noting that the only young driver to impress him "at the time," a 12-year-old Max Verstappen, was "taken care of."

"But taking someone like Antonelli and immediately putting him in Ferrari would have meant destroying him," Montezemolo said.

The former Ferrari boss was then asked what advice he would give to the young Mercedes driver.

He said: "I met him last year in Bahrain. I knew his father by name from his racing career. I called to congratulate him. He's a nice, shy guy. He's lucky to have a solid family, and he understands values.

Meanwhile, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has come under fire for what Guenther Steiner has called "total self-promotion" after Antonelli's Chinese GP win.

As the Italian teenager crossed the line, Wolff said to Antonelli on the team radio: "'He’s too young. We shouldn’t put him in a Mercedes. Put him in a smaller team. He needs the experience. Look at the mistakes he makes.' Here we go, Kimi, victory."

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