Andrea Kimi Antonelli was preparing for the most important race of his Formula 1 career when a 10-year-old Mexican girl handed him a black-and-white beaded bracelet bearing his name. Just hours later, after becoming the youngest world champion in F1 history at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver surprised her by wearing the very same bracelet on the podium.
Emma Garcia Lopez, a young Mexican karting driver, had been given the opportunity to meet Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the starting grid at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. “I made it for you. It will bring you good luck,” she told the Italian as she handed him her gift. When Emma later spotted the bracelet on his wrist during the podium celebrations, she burst into tears of happiness.
Kimi Antonelli’s lucky bracelet leaves young Mexican fan in tears
Emma Garcia Lopez was attending the Mexican Grand Prix as a Grid Kid, one of the children who accompany Formula 1 drivers during the pre-race ceremonies. When she found herself standing in front of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, she seized the opportunity to give him the small bracelet she had made especially for him.
The encounter lasted only a few seconds. After wishing the Mercedes driver good luck and successfully handing over her present, Emma ran straight back to her mother, visibly emotional and excited to tell her what had happened.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli subsequently started the Mexican Grand Prix from fourth position and finished third, behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The result was enough for the 20-year-old Italian to secure his maiden Formula 1 world championship, becoming the youngest driver ever to achieve the feat.
During the podium ceremony, Emma noticed something that almost every other spectator would have overlooked. Just beneath the new world champion’s watch, she recognised the distinctive black-and-white beads of the bracelet she had given him before the race.
“He’s got it!” she exclaimed when she realised Andrea Kimi Antonelli was still wearing her gift. Overwhelmed by emotion, the young girl began to cry.
The Mercedes driver had put on the bracelet immediately after receiving it and kept it on throughout the race and the subsequent championship celebrations. What had begun as a brief meeting on the starting grid had become an unforgettable moment for a young fan who dreams of following in his footsteps.
Who is Emma Garcia Lopez, the young karting driver who met Kimi Antonelli?
Emma Garcia Lopez is a 10-year-old racing driver from Mexico City, born on 9 June 2016. She began karting at the age of six and made her debut in the Micro category in 2024.
That same year, she joined Escudería Telmex Telcel, the Mexican motorsport development programme that also supported the career of Sergio Pérez. Emma is already pursuing her own ambitions in racing, and meeting Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the Mexican Grand Prix represented a particularly meaningful experience.
Her appearance on the Formula 1 starting grid also brought back memories of a remarkably similar moment from Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s childhood.
From Lewis Hamilton’s Grid Kid to Formula 1 world champion
In 2018, a 12-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli was himself one of the Grid Kids at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. During the pre-race ceremonies, the young Italian met Lewis Hamilton, who was then racing for Mercedes.
A photograph of that encounter subsequently became iconic, showing the future Formula 1 champion greeting the British driver. Seven years later, Andrea Kimi Antonelli would replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, beginning the Formula 1 career that ultimately led to his historic 2026 championship triumph.
The connection between those two moments is especially poignant. Andrea Kimi Antonelli was once a young karting hopeful meeting one of the biggest names in Formula 1. Eight years later, he found himself on the other side of that experience, receiving a handmade gift from a child who hopes to achieve something equally extraordinary.
His championship victory in Mexico also marked a historic achievement for Italian motorsport, ending Italy’s 73-year wait for another Formula 1 world champion.
Emma Garcia Lopez dreams of becoming Mexico’s first female F1 driver
For Emma Garcia Lopez, the encounter with Andrea Kimi Antonelli was more than an opportunity to meet her favourite racing driver. It also strengthened her ambition to build a career in motorsport and one day reach Formula 1 herself.
Following the Mexican Grand Prix, Emma wrote a message to the newly crowned world champion explaining her dream of becoming the first Mexican woman to compete in Formula 1.
She also made a special promise. Emma intends to create a second bracelet identical to the one she gave Andrea Kimi Antonelli and wear it during her own karting races, just as the Mercedes driver wore hers during his championship-winning Grand Prix.
Her greatest wish is to meet Andrea Kimi Antonelli again one day, but under very different circumstances. Instead of standing on a Formula 1 grid as a young fan, she hopes to return as a racing driver herself.
And if that dream comes true, Emma hopes the two will once again exchange their matching bracelets, completing a story that began with a simple handmade gift just minutes before Andrea Kimi Antonelli became world champion.
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