Antonelli breaks down after achieving ‘one of my life goals’

Kimi Antonelli broke down in tears as David Coulthard interviewed him after clinching his maiden Formula 1 victory at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The Italian, who 24 hours earlier had become F1’s youngest-ever pole-sitter, converted his pole into a victory in a near-flawless display, barring one late scare near the end.

Kimi Antonelli emotional after maiden F1 victory at the Chinese Grand Prix

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Antonelli lined up P1 on the Shanghai grid but found himself trailing the fast-starting Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton as he worked to cover off the second SF-26 of Charles Leclerc.

He was back up into P1 on the second lap as he powered past Lewis Hamilton down the straight to lead into the hairpin, and from there, it was Antonelli’s race to win.

While George Russell squabbled with the Ferraris, and the Ferrari drivers with one another, Antonelli pulled clear to lead by nine seconds into the closing laps.

However, a hairy lock-up at the hairpin with three laps to go prompted his race engineer Peter Bonnington to come over the radio: ‘Let’s get this thing home’.

That’s exactly what Antonelli did, winning by five seconds ahead of Russell.

“Yes, we did it,” he told Mercedes on the radio, adding: “Thank you guys, you’ve helped me achieve one of my dreams.”

Antonelli spoke with Coulthard in the immediate post-race interview where he was overcome by the emotions of the moment.

“I’m about to cry. Thank you to my team who helped me achieve this dream,” he said, before the tears broke free and he took a moment to wipe his eyes.

“I’m super happy.

“I said I really wanted to bring Italy back on top and we did it today. Even though I gave myself a little bit of a heart attack towards the end with the flat spot.

“It was not an easy start and probably I covered a bit too much on the inside and gave too much room to the Ferrari, but the pace was good and we managed to bring it home.”

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Antonelli’s win moved him up to 47 points, four behind George Russell in the Drivers’ standings.

Asked about a potential title challenge, he said: “We are just at the beginning, we need to keep pushing.

“George is an incredible driver, very strong in all aspects, so it’s going to take a lot to beat him.

“It’s such a great opportunity to be working with him because I’ve been learning a lot from him. So looking forward to the rest of the season. We focus race by race and then we’ll see where we end up at the end of the year.”

His Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was one of the first to congratulate the Italian, citing the criticism and concerns Antonelli had faced when he was brought into Formula 1 as just 18.

He said: “He’s too young. We shouldn’t put him a Mercedes. Put him in a smaller team. He needs the experience. Look at the mistakes he makes.

“Here we go Kimi. Victory.”

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