Kimi Antonelli became the second-youngest driver to win a F1 race after winning the Chinese Grand Prix last weekend. He finished ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who rounded out the podium. Even though Hamilton finished behind Antonelli, Hamilton apparently was quite gracious.
Antonelli gave an interview in Italian where he talked about his week. He said Hamilton had the kindest actions towards him after the race.
“Lewis (Hamilton) was very kind with me. He was so happy for me! He, for real, was so happy for me. In the end, everyone complimented me, but I have to say that Lewis was the kindest of them all,” Antonelli said.
Kimi Antonelli: "Lewis (Hamilton) was very kind with me. He was so happy for me! He, for real, was so happy for me. In the end, everyone complimented me, but I have to say that Lewis was the kindest of them all."
— sim | シム (@simscircuit) March 20, 2026
🥺🥹
pic.twitter.com/AysIv6Xhg0
Hamilton has won 105 F1 races during his career, so he knows better than most just how great it is to win. Antonelli is getting a taste of that at the F1 level. Still, it’s pretty nice and surprising for someone to not win the race but still be gracious about it.
Chinese Grand Prix Recap
Mercedes and Ferrari were able to lock down the top four spots for the second race in a row. Both McLaren and Red Bull experienced reliability issues. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were unable to participate in the Chinese Grand Prix due to mechanical and electrical issues despite qualifying 5th and 6th, and Max Verstappen was forced to pit and retire on lap 45 after experiencing coolant issues.
After two races, Mercedes and and Ferrari clearly are the two front runners for the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. However, after the Chinese Grand Prix, the FIA has agreed to sit down with teams to discuss potential changes to the battery harvesting and deployment. Additionally, the FIA has announced that after June 1, 2026, a hot test will be introduce to close a loophole Mercedes had been exploiting to achieve higher compression ratio and gain additional pace.
The season has just started, but all teams with the exception of Mercedes and Ferrari, have much work to do, or they risk falling behind.
