SHANGHAI — Kimi Antonelli has been defined by being Lewis Hamilton’s successor and George Russell’s teammate at Mercedes. Now the 19-year-old Italian driver is a Formula 1 grand prix winner in his own right, and the second-youngest ever in the international open-wheel circuit’s history.
Antonelli pulled clear of an entertaining battle between Russell and the two Ferraris to take a commanding win at Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix. He shared the podium with his runner-up teammate and third-place Hamilton, the seven-time series champion and all-time leader in F1 grand prix wins he replaced last year after the British veteran joined Ferrari.
“I’m speechless. I’m about to cry, to be honest,” said Antonelli, holding back tears. “Thank you so much to my team, because they helped me to achieve this dream.”
It was a vindication of the gamble Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff took in picking Antonelli, who joined the organization’s junior program at 11, to replace an all-time great. There were plenty of doubters when the youngster crashed 10 minutes into his practice debut in 2024.
“Many said it was just too early last year, and obviously we asked ourselves that question, whether it was too much to throw him into this pressure cooker,” Wolff told Sky Sport Germany. “One year with ups and downs, and he’s young. We have to forgive him these mistakes, and now he’s in the second grand prix (of 2026) and brings it home ruthlessly. It’s good.”