Kimi delivered the first Formula 1 victory of his career with a perfect weekend. Only a small mistake caused a moment of panic when there was just over a lap left before the chequered flag.
“I can’t speak. I’m about to cry, if I’m honest…”. And that is exactly how it happened. Andrea Kimi Antonelli was completely overwhelmed by emotion. Only he — and rightly so — truly knows what he felt once he removed his helmet and realized that he had just won the first race of his Formula 1 career.
There are different kinds of tears. There are those he may have shed, perhaps secretly, during Free Practice 1 of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza almost two years ago. And then there are the tears of someone who has just beaten the very best drivers in the world.
We must not forget all the sacrifices made over the years either. Many of us have already lived through similar stages of life, and it is enough to remember where we were, what we were doing (or not doing), and what our daily routines looked like to try to imagine the emotions of a 19-year-old who has just defeated the favourite for the 2026 world title and a seven-time world champion.
“Thank you so much to my team, because… they helped me make this dream come true.” And the tears came. Partly hidden behind his arm, the microphone, the blue Mercedes cap — and also within the embrace of George Russell, who must have remembered his own emotions when he achieved his first victory in the Formula 1 circus.
“I’m really happy. I said yesterday that I wanted to bring Italy back to the top and we did it today, even though I almost gave myself a heart attack with a lock-up near the end. But it was a great race.”
It has been 20 years since the last victory by an Italian driver in Formula 1. Two decades is a long time, almost endless in certain respects. Now Kimi Antonelli knows that he has a golden opportunity ahead of him to prove that he can be among the best not only of the future, but also of the present.
In today’s victory it is also worth highlighting Andrea’s ability to start better compared to Melbourne and yesterday’s Sprint race. That factor, in the overall context of the final result, had a decisive impact.
“It was difficult. The start was good. Maybe I covered the inside too much into the first corner and left too much space for the Ferraris, but in the end the pace was good and I managed to win.”
Shortly after the podium ceremony, Andrea spoke to the microphones of Sky Sport F1 to go into more detail about what happened today in Shanghai.
“I dreamed there might be a chance and today it came true. This victory feels amazing and I’m really happy.”
“I liked the start, because the previous ones had been terrible. I didn’t have much confidence. I released the clutch well even though Lewis managed to pass me. With the Medium tyres I managed things a lot, even if Russell had a bit more pace. But on the Hard tyres I was going well.”
The two most critical moments of Antonelli’s race arrived during the second half of the Grand Prix: the braking mistake with one lap remaining, but also the restart on Hard tyres, where Mercedes struggled to bring them into the correct operating window.
“At the end I relaxed a bit too much and made a mistake. I must not do that again. But the pace in the race was really very good.”
“I felt good today. I was calm and managed to stay relaxed the whole time. Even on the restart with the Hard tyres, where we had a huge struggle to warm them up while the Ferraris did a much better job than us. But I felt good, I had everything under control. It was really beautiful and I dedicate it to my family, to the team and to everyone who supports me.”
“I have definitely achieved one of my big goals. This gives you more confidence. I will approach things differently now, more relaxed and aware of the potential. But beating George and the others will not be easy. We will have to keep pushing hard. Today went well, but we are only at the beginning. We must continue like this.” – the Italian driver concluded at the end of the Chinese Grand Prix.
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