MEXICO CITY – Andrea Kimi Antonelli credited the low ebbs of his debut Formula 1 season, and the subsequent criticism he received, as “fuel to the fire” in aiding his World Championship triumph.
The Italian finished third in the Mexico City Grand Prix to secure the title, becoming the youngest-ever in the sport’s history, and Italy’s since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
Antonelli was held aloft by race winner Max Verstappen and second-placed Lewis Hamilton on the rostrum, capping a momentous and historic season for the Mercedes driver.
After the race, Antonelli admitted that the moment was still surreal, but failed to lose sight of the remaining races in the calendar, naming the aim of finishing as strongly as he has been all throughout.
“Yeah, I’m still trying to realise and understand at the moment what has just happened,” he told media, including Motorsport Week. “Because, you know, when you work so hard, and since I was a kid, I’ve been dreaming of achieving this, and when you finally achieve it, it’s truly, truly special, and obviously all the emotions as well come out, and to be able as well to share this moment, to witness this moment with my whole family, with my team, and all of my friends as well is a moment that will be always remembered.
“And I’m just super happy and grateful for what has just happened, and all the opportunities, all the support that I’ve got, not only this year but since I joined the team as well, so, yeah, just gonna try to enjoy it all the way, and then enjoy as well the rest of the season, because we still got a few races to go.
“But we still want to finish on a high, and then obviously, this is a new point where to start again, and, yeah, to just build on and improve.”
2025 criticism made Kimi Antonelli ‘much more ready’
Antonelli’s title triumph completes a remarkable comeback tale, having been pilloried by many during a difficult maiden campaign last year.
Struggling to adapt to a tricky Mercedes car, Antonelli often lagged behind teammate George Russell, leading to criticism and assertions that he was not ready for Formula 1, including from former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who suggested he would have benefitted from being in a less-high-profile squad rather than the Silver Arrows.
And when asked by Motorsport Week if those criticisms had given him extra encouragement to succeed this year, Antonelli admitted that it may have added some impotus to his task.
“It’s always good to shut off some of the noise,” he said. “And of course, I think in many ways, it does help to add fuel to the fire, the fact that some people said that I wasn’t belonging to Formula 1, that I wasn’t ready for it, which at some point last year, I probably looked like I wasn’t ready for it.
“But I think last year, being able to experience those moments made me much more ready as well, I had that this year, I think experiencing really low and difficult situations, high pressure moments, really helped me to face certain situations this year, and definitely made me mature a lot as a driver, as a person.
“And still, this year, bad moments where I could have done better, a lot better, so yeah, it’s just a constant learning process.
“But I think last year, being able to race straight into Mercedes, obviously, straight on the spotlight, made me grow much faster than if I would have gone to a smaller team, for example.”
READ MORE – F1 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix – Race Results
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