‘I’m about to cry’: record-breaking Kimi Antonelli hails Mercedes following maiden F1 victory
Kimi Antonelli couldn’t have been more thankful to Brackley outfit Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team after sealing his first-ever F1 victory at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Antonelli became F1’s youngest-ever pole-sitter with a scorching lap around the Shanghai International Circuit on Saturday, before converting that to an emphatic victory on Sunday morning.
In doing so, Italian talent Antonelli became the second-youngest winner in F1 history, behind four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
Teammate George Russell came home in P2 to mark another Mercedes 1-2, following on from the Silver Arrows’ perfect result in Australia a week earlier.
In the Chinese Sprint, which took place on Saturday, Russell took top step on the podium and Antonelli finished in P5, after serving a 10-second penalty for an opening-lap crash into Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar.
Out of a possible 101 points, Mercedes have taken 98 so far. It has been utter dominance and that wouldn’t be possible without the almighty work from those back at the factories in Brackley and Brixworth.
Antonelli, who ended Italy’s 20-year wait for a Grand Prix winner after Giancarlo Fisichella’s win in Malaysia back in 2006, was very appreciative post-race.
“I’m speechless,” Antonelli said in parc ferme. “I’m about to cry, to be honest. Thank you so much to my team, because they helped me to achieve this dream.
“I said I really wanted to bring Italy back on top and we did, even though I gave myself a little bit of a heart attack towards the end with the flat-spot. It was a good race.”
The podium in China was a joy to behold for Mercedes, as Antonelli and Russell were joined by legendary seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, now of Ferrari.
For team principal Toto Wolff, it was like having three Mercedes drivers up there.
Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington, Hamilton’s former race engineer who has since been nurturing Antonelli, joined in the celebrations as the Silver Arrows’ team representative.
“That podium was probably one of the best moments I've ever had in Formula One,” said Wolff.
“The three of them, with Bono right in the middle… to be honest, it’s rare that I’m overwhelmed but that is such a moment.”
Wolff and Mercedes will be keen to triumph again soon, at the Japanese Grand Prix on the weekend of March 27-29.