Kimi Antonelli has sparked affectionate tributes from all quarters of the Formula One paddock after becoming the sport’s youngest world champion at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
asserted
Antonelli → spark → Prix
The 20-year-old Italian finished third for Mercedes on Sunday behind Red Bull’s four-time champion Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton – who then hoisted him aloft as a carnival of celebrations began.
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carnival → finish → celebrations
“It’s a very special day,” said Antonelli’s race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington, who has worked with seven-time champions Michael Schumacher and Hamilton and regards the new champion – Italy’s first since 1953 – as another generational talent.
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who → ’ → talent
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Rwanda → call → East
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Antonelli → have → F1
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“I feel privileged to work with him and to put up with his pranks and tricks, including the water pistols and the rest.
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I → win → pistols
It’s him all over.”
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It → ’ → ?
Antonelli said it was “truly incredible” to share the podium with multiple champions Verstappen and Hamilton.
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it → say → champions
“I’m looking forward to more battles with them in the future,” he said.
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he → look → future
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.”
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win → go → championship
Lived and breathed motorsports his whole life
The sound of engines and smell of exhausts have been part of Antonelli’s life since he was a child.
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he → live → life
The Mercedes driver was barely 10 when he sat on his father Marco’s 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.
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father → sit → pedals
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.
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dad → smuggle → top
“Sometimes we may look like lunatics because we just talk about racing,” Antonelli said of his close relationship with his father and the passion they share.
uncertain
they → look → father
“We like to analyse things together.
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We → like → things
We have a lot of fun together, and racing is our passion.
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racing → have → fun
It’s what I live for.”
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I → ’ → what
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.
“He didn’t want me to become a driver because motorsports can be very cruel at times, especially financially, since it’s very hard to succeed without the support of the right people,” the younger Antonelli said before the US Grand Prix last month.
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Antonelli → stay → Prix
“He taught me everything he knew, first about racing and now about life.
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he → teach → life
It’s really important to have him by my side during races.”
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It → ’ → races
Prodigy picked up by Mercedes at 11
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.
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Hamilton → pick → programme
“He’s incredibly impressive and deserves to be world champion,” said the Englishman, whose record of seven world titles may one day come under threat from his protege.
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record → ’ → protege
Antonelli began in karting, dominating the sport in 2020 and 2021.
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Antonelli → begin → 2020
He skipped F3 and went straight into F2 in 2024.
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He → skip → 2024
Although he finished only sixth, another leap followed when Hamilton left Mercedes for Ferrari.
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Hamilton → finish → Ferrari
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.
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he → be → championship
“I 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,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said.
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Wolff → say → moments
“He was catapulted into F1, and it wasn’t easy, even though he had always driven very well.
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he → catapult → F1
He had to handle the pressure, the media and the expectations.”
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He → have → pressure
Always cheerful, smiling and full of jokes, Antonelli has become the life and soul of the paddock.
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Antonelli → smile → paddock
Every news conference is laced with humour with other drivers joining in the fun.
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drivers → lace → fun
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.
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duo → pour → sports
Six races that made Antonelli world champion
March 15:
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Antonelli → make → ?
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.
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Antonelli → become → Verstappen
May 24: Canada
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.
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Russell → take → gap
June 7: Monaco
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.
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it → start → circuit
After six races, Antonelli led Hamilton and Russell by 66 and 68 points, respectively.
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Antonelli → lead → points
September 6: Italy
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.
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Antonelli → start → 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.
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He → proceed → Scarfiotti
September 26: Azerbaijan
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.
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Russell → make → pole
…and 3 more, not listed.
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