Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Long-time Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has praised the “maturity” he saw Andrea Kimi Antonelli show as the Mercedes gem won the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.
Antonelli became just the second teenager to ever win a Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday, as he comfortably led teammate George Russell home for a Mercedes one-two in Shanghai. He won by 5.515 seconds after delivering an almost faultless drive to victory from pole position.
The 19-year-old almost achieved a Grand Slam with his first victory, too, having even set the fastest lap of the race. Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton denied Antonelli perfection, after he took the lead of the Chinese GP into Turn 1 and led the opening lap before the Italian struck back.
Max Verstappen and Hamilton predict Antonelli will take “many” more wins after scoring his maiden victory in such a commanding way, as well. Hamilton had no response to Antonelli’s pace after he reclaimed the lead on the back straight on Lap 2 of 56, and won unchallenged.
Kimi Antonelli’s win in Shanghai makes him the second youngest Grand Prix winner in F1 history. Will Max Verstappen’s record ever be broken?!
Let us know in the comments below!
Luca Di Montezemolo praises Kimi Antonelli’s surprising ‘maturity and composure’ in China
The only time that Antonelli ever put a foot wrong en route to winning the Chinese GP was when he locked up into the Turn 14 hairpin on Lap 53, having briefly lost concentration. He only saw another car after acing the safety car restart on L14 when lapping drivers up to P9.
READ MORE: 2026 Chinese Grand Prix race report, as Kimi Antonelli scored his first F1 win
Former Ferrari chairman and Scuderia president Di Montezemolo was very impressed with how mature and composed Antonelli was en route to winning the Chinese GP. He thinks it was a very un-Italian performance by the Bologna boy in what was just his 26th start in F1.
Di Montezemolo told Corriere della Sera: “His victory moved me. He’s a 19-year-old who is constantly improving. He’d had trouble starting, yet he didn’t lose heart. He took the lead and led without hesitation, only taking risks at the end.
“He showed maturity and composure, uncharacteristic of an Italian, and especially not of someone his age. He has his feet on the ground, and I hope he stays that way. All the potential is there, but it was a little annoying to see him in a Mercedes.”
Luca di Montezemolo thinks racing for Ferrari at 19 would have ‘destroyed’ Kimi Antonelli
Lando Norris, George Russell and Alex Albon made their F1 debuts on this day in 2019
Have their careers lived up to expectations? Let us know why in the comments!
When pushed on whether he would rather see Antonelli winning Formula 1 races for Ferrari, Di Montezemolo claimed: “Exactly!” But the long-time Scuderia boss does not think it would have been possible for Ferrari to have fielded Antonelli at such a young age like Mercedes.
“Taking someone like Antonelli and immediately putting him in Ferrari would have meant destroying him,” he added. “We parked [Felipe] Massa at Sauber to gain experience… He would have been under enormous pressure.”
Mercedes chose to make Antonelli the third-youngest F1 driver of all time when they had to replace Hamilton from the 2025 season, having lost the most successful driver of all-time to Ferrari in the seven-time champion. Toto Wolff is now reaping the rewards of that decision.
Antonelli still has some areas of his game to refine, like his race starts, to really rival Russell for the 2026 F1 drivers’ championship. While he perfected his launch in the Chinese GP on Sunday, the Italian lost places off the line in the Australian GP and the F1 Sprint in Shanghai.
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
