Formula 1 saw a landmark moment in Shanghai this Sunday, with Kimi Antonelli taking his first Grand Prix victory and getting emotional right after the checkered flag. The Mercedes driver couldn’t hold back the tears after achieving one of his main career dreams at just 19 years old.
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With the triumph at the 2026 Chinese GP, the Italian made history in the category as the second youngest driver to win a race. Only Max Verstappen, when he won in Spain ten years ago, was younger when achieving this feat in Formula 1.
Still on the team radio, Antonelli made the magnitude of the moment clear. “Thank you so much! You made me achieve one of my dreams,” said the young driver right after taking the checkered flag in first place.
The emotion increased even more when he left the car to give his first interview after the race. Visibly shaken, Antonelli tried to find words to summarize the achievement, but ended up being overcome by emotion.
“I’m speechless. I want to cry, to be honest. Thank you so much to my team because…,” said the Italian, before breaking off and starting to cry. Then, he wiped his tears with his racing suit sleeve and tried to continue.
“They helped me realize this dream…,” he added, emotional once again. The scene marked one of the most symbolic moments of the season so far and reinforced the weight of the driver’s first victory in Formula 1.
In addition to the triumph, Antonelli also put Italy back at the top of the category after a long interval. The Italian became the first driver from the country to win a race since Giancarlo Fisichella at the 2006 Malaysian GP.
Upon being informed of this fact, Antonelli showed surprise. “I’m surprised,” he replied. The driver also recalled that he had already spoken on Saturday about the desire to put Italy back in the spotlight in Formula 1.
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“I said yesterday that I really wanted to put Italy back on top, and we managed to do that today,” he stated. Even so, he admitted that the final part of the race brought a moment of tension.
Antonelli controlled the race with authority and managed to open up a 9s5 lead over George Russell. However, with tire wear increasing, he locked his wheels at the hairpin at the end of the back straight, creating a scare in the final stretch of the race.
The Italian joked about the situation when commenting on the episode. “I almost gave myself a heart attack at the end with that lock-up, but it was a good race,” he said, referring to the tire wear and the braking error.
In the championship, Antonelli now sits just one point behind Russell. Even so, the driver preferred to treat the moment with caution when talking about his chances in the title race.
“We’re only at the beginning, let’s keep pushing,” he stated. He also praised his teammate, highlighting Russell’s strength and how much he has been learning while sharing the team with him.
“George is an incredible driver, very strong. It’s going to take a lot to beat him, but it’s also a great opportunity to work with him because I’m learning a lot,” he said.
Thinking about the rest of the season, Antonelli made it clear that he intends to maintain focus race by race. “I’m looking forward to the rest of the championship. I’m going to focus stage by stage and we’ll see where we finish at the end of the year,” he concluded.
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