{"id":13098,"date":"2026-11-02T10:21:23","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T10:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=13098"},"modified":"2026-11-02T10:21:23","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T10:21:23","slug":"just-the-beginning-for-antonelli-f1s-prodigious-charismatic-new-king-motorsports-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=13098","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Just the beginning\u2019 for Antonelli, F1\u2019s prodigious, charismatic new king | Motorsports News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kimi Antonelli has sparked affectionate tributes from all quarters of the Formula One paddock after becoming the sport\u2019s youngest world champion<\/a> at the Mexico City Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old Italian finished third for Mercedes on Sunday behind Red Bull\u2019s four-time champion Max Verstappen and Ferrari\u2019s seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton \u2013 who then hoisted him aloft as a carnival of celebrations began.<\/p>\n

\"Mercedes'
Mercedes\u2019s Kimi Antonelli celebrates with this team after finishing third in the race and clinching the 2026 Formula One World Championship [Daniel Becerril\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very special day,\u201d said Antonelli\u2019s race engineer Peter \u2018Bono\u2019 Bonnington, who has worked with seven-time champions Michael Schumacher and Hamilton and regards the new champion \u2013 Italy\u2019s first since 1953 \u2013 as another generational talent.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI feel privileged to work with him and to put up with his pranks and tricks, including the water pistols and the rest. It\u2019s him all over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antonelli said it was \u201ctruly incredible\u201d to share the podium with multiple champions Verstappen and Hamilton.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to more battles with them in the future,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cThis is just the beginning. This win is just going to mark a beginning, a new point to build on and keep improving and keep trying to win a championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lived and breathed motorsports his whole life<\/h2>\n

The sound of engines and smell of exhausts have been part of Antonelli\u2019s life since he was a child.<\/p>\n

The Mercedes driver was barely 10 when he sat on his father Marco\u2019s lap behind the wheel of a competition Lamborghini, changing gears and guiding the car around a racetrack while his father operated the brake and accelerator pedals.<\/p>\n

He was eight when his racing driver dad smuggled him into the Formula One paddock for the first time inside a stack of tyres with an umbrella on top.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we may look like lunatics because we just talk about racing,\u201d Antonelli said of his close relationship with his father and the passion they share.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like to analyse things together. Racing is always in our minds. We have a lot of fun together, and racing is our passion. It\u2019s what I live for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The son of Elisabetta, who stays out of the spotlight, and Marco, a former driver and team principal, Andrea Kimi Antonelli started karting at seven although his father, surprisingly, opposed a career in the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t want me to become a driver because motorsports can be very cruel at times, especially financially, since it\u2019s very hard to succeed without the support of the right people,\u201d the younger Antonelli said before the US Grand Prix last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe taught me everything he knew, first about racing and now about life. It\u2019s really important to have him by my side during races.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mercedes'
Mercedes\u2019s Kimi Antonelli celebrates on the podium with team principal Toto Wolff after winning the Monaco Grand Prix [Yves Herman\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prodigy picked up by Mercedes at 11<\/h2>\n

Antonelli was spotted and, at the age of 11, recruited by Frenchman Gwen Lagrue, head of the Mercedes junior driver programme, where Hamilton was his mentor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s incredibly impressive and deserves to be world champion,\u201d said the Englishman, whose record of seven world titles may one day come under threat from his protege.<\/p>\n

Antonelli began in karting, dominating the sport in 2020 and 2021. He was Italian and German F4 champion in 2022 and champion in Formula Regional in F3 cars in 2023.<\/p>\n

He skipped F3 and went straight into F2 in 2024. Although he finished only sixth, another leap followed when Hamilton left Mercedes for Ferrari.<\/p>\n

There were a few bumps and brushes in his rookie year in F1, but he still managed a second place in Sao Paulo and two other podiums, finishing seventh in the championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said from the start that he had tremendous talent and a great personality but that he would need a season in F1 to grow and learn through both great moments and setbacks,\u201d Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was catapulted into F1, and it wasn\u2019t easy, even though he had always driven very well. He had to handle the pressure, the media and the expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Always cheerful, smiling and full of jokes, Antonelli has become the life and soul of the paddock. Every news conference is laced with humour with other drivers joining in the fun.<\/p>\n

Congratulations from across the world poured in for the new champion, including from Italian compatriots, such as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, football clubs and multiple-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner, who teamed up with Antonelli to give Italy several victorious weekends as the duo triumphed concurrently in their sports.<\/p>\n

Six races that made Antonelli world champion<\/h2>\n

March 15: China<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only did he become the youngest driver ever to take pole position, but Antonelli, still only 19, went on to win his first grand prix, becoming the second youngest F1 winner behind Verstappen.<\/p>\n

May 24: Canada\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite teammate George Russell taking pole, the race again belonged to Antonelli, who made it four wins on the bounce as Russell was forced to retire on lap 30 due to a battery\/power unit failure, costing him a potential 18 points and widening the gap.<\/p>\n

June 7: Monaco<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two weeks later, the Italian again started from pole to make it five wins from five with a first victory on the tight, legendary Monaco street circuit. After six races, Antonelli led Hamilton and Russell by 66 and 68 points, respectively.<\/p>\n

September 6: Italy<\/strong><\/p>\n

While Russell started on pole, Antonelli, in his first race as a 20-year-old, was forced to start from 19th on the grid due to an engine penalty. He then proceeded to pick his way through the field and passed Russell to become the first Italian to win the race since Ludovico Scarfiotti 60 years earlier.<\/p>\n

September 26: Azerbaijan\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

On another street circuit in Baku, Antonelli made a rare error when he pranged his car into a wall during qualifying while Russell took pole. Antonelli didn\u2019t make it on o the podium this time but worked his way up to fifth to puncture Russell\u2019s optimism and close in on the title.<\/p>\n

October 4: Malaysia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Antonelli finished second behind a resurgent Verstappen but stretched his lead after Russell, who was running third at the time, was forced to retire just a few laps from the finish.<\/p>\n

That took his lead in the championship race to 84 points, essentially ending Russell\u2019s bid to challenge him and signalling the dawn of a new era in Formula One.<\/p>\n

\"Mercedes'
Antonelli celebrates with champagne on the podium after winning the Italian Grand Prix with with his Mercedes teammate George Russell in second place [Claudia Greco\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Kimi Antonelli has sparked affectionate tributes from all quarters of the Formula One paddock after becoming the sport\u2019s youngest world champion at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The 20-year-old Italian finished third for Mercedes on Sunday behind Red Bull\u2019s four-time champion Max Verstappen and Ferrari\u2019s seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton \u2013 who then hoisted him aloft…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t