“I really wanted to bring Italy back on top”: Antonelli wins in China

Written by Kavi Khandelwal

The damp air of the Shanghai International Circuit carried a historic weight on Sunday as the Italian anthem finally returned to the top step of the podium.

Credit: Formula One

For Kimi Antonelli, the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix was the realisation of a lifelong pursuit under the immense pressure of the Silver Arrows’ expectations. As he brought the Mercedes across the line to secure his first career win, the raw emotion was immediate, breaking through the usually stoic facade of a Formula One driver.

"Thank you so much. Yeah, I’m speechless. I’m about to cry, to be honest. But yeah, thank you so much to my team because they helped me to achieve this dream," he admitted during the track interviews with David Coulthard.

The victory carried a deeper resonance for his home country, marking the first time an Italian driver had stood atop the rostrum in two decades. "Yeah, I’m super happy. I said yesterday that I really wanted to bring Italy back on top, and we did today. Even though I gave myself a little bit of a heart attack towards the end with a flat spot, it was a good race."

The technical mastery required to navigate the complexities of the Shanghai layout was nearly undone at the very start. Despite starting from pole, Antonelli found himself under immediate threat as Lewis Hamilton passed him at Turn 1 of Lap 1, a struggle he later attributed to both car behaviour and his own defensive positioning.

"Yeah, it was difficult. 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 at the end the pace was good and we managed to bring it home," he reflected.

The battle for the lead required a composed fight-back against the Ferraris and his teammate, George Russell. When asked how this result impacts his championship outlook alongside Russell, the teenager remained grounded.

"Yeah, I mean, we’re just at the beginning. We keep pushing. George is an incredible driver, very strong in all aspects, so it’s going to take a lot to beat him. But it’s such a great opportunity to be working with him as well because I’ve been learning a lot from him. Looking forward to the rest of the season now. I always focus race by race and then we’ll see where we end up at the end of the year."

The anxiety surrounding the opening meters was a recurring theme in his post-race analysis, revealing the psychological hurdles he had to clear during the formation lap.

"Yeah, I mean, the start is still our weak point and to be fair I didn’t go with great confidence because my two previous starts were really bad, so I didn’t know what to expect," he confessed.

"But obviously, I covered a little bit too much on the inside and left too much space on the outside, so probably need to review that. But pace was still good, especially I felt good on the Hards, even though at the end I relaxed a bit too much and did a mistake which put a bit of pressure. But still managed to bring it home."

This moment of late-race tension served as a vital educational milestone for the young driver. "There’s so much that I’ve learned, but first of all it’s never to relax too much because today it went well, but it could have been worse. So just always try to stay on point and keep the focus because today at the end I opened the room for mistakes and the mistake happened. I just need to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

And then of course also just trying to focus on doing things right, procedure-wise, warm-up, bringing the tyre into the stint. I think it was a massive lesson. Also today was very cold and it was a good lesson to see what was the best way to keep the tyres in a good window."

Even as the celebrations began in the paddock, Antonelli’s focus remained on the people behind the scenes. "Well, I’m flying home tonight, but definitely tomorrow I will take time to celebrate. Also, I think it will take a little bit of time to realise what has just happened. But yeah, super happy and of course massive thanks to the team, all the boys and girls in Brackley and Brixworth, and of course massive thanks to my family. Looking forward to the next one."