‘He makes himself stronger’ – Antonelli’s dad reflects on son’s ‘important’ title triumph

Kimi Antonelli’s father has praised his son for his maiden World Championship victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix, reflecting on their “special” relationship and “very difficult” journey to success.

After the 20-year-old clinched third place behind race winner Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, giving him enough of a points advantage in the standings to win the title, he embraced his family in an emotional celebration.

It was no surprise that he ran to them after getting out of the car, especially as Marco Antonelli has supported the Italian throughout his motorsport career and was spotted in the Mercedes garage at times this season.

Summarising his reaction to what will be an unforgettable day for the family, he told Sky Sports F1: “Step by step he makes himself stronger and stronger and stronger, and this is the result.

“I'm very lucky because the relationship with my son and with my daughter is special, and this is the best thing in the world that I can have.

“Of course Kimi is young and needs the shoulder in the difficult and also in happy moments, [to] share the situation with somebody that he believes is on his side. I did nothing special, I did only the job that I think that each father [does] with his son and his family, and so we are here. I'm very proud about it.”

Having started the race from P4 on the grid, Antonelli later snatched third from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and was able to celebrate his groundbreaking achievement on the podium as he became Italy’s first World Champion in 73 years.

But his triumph also meant a lot on a personal level, as Antonelli senior explained to F1 TV: “I feel good because you can imagine that, when you achieve one result like this, it's an important result and I'm very happy. I said to him, I don't know if you know, you are the champion. I cried!

“It's been step by step during his career that, on some occasion, I realised that he was good. But [you] never can say that he might achieve this result, because it's not possible to say. Never you can [be sure] to be World Champion one day.

“The position that Kimi had last year was very difficult, because when you jump in the car of a seven-time World Champion, it's very difficult to keep up the performance and not feel the pressure.

“I'm very happy that after the bad period he had the capacity to restart and take the experience for improving himself, and I think that this is the result.

“For me the celebration is here on track – around the fans, around you, around the cars. This is my life.”