KIMI, NOW YOU CAN CRY: THE DREAM IS A WORLD TITLE!

The chequered flag has fallen. His helmet is still on, but the tears cannot wait. Kimi Antonelli is world champion and, for a moment, finding the words seems harder than driving a Formula 1 car. You can prepare every detail of a race and rehearse what to do a thousand times. Then it really happens. And the emotion takes over.

At the Mexico City Grand Prix on 1 November 2026, the Mercedes driver finished third and secured his first title. He is 20 years and 68 days old: nobody had achieved it so young. Italy has a World Drivers’ Champion again, after Alberto Ascari’s title in 1953. Seventy-three years of waiting, ending on the podium in Mexico City.

You can find Kimi’s heart at the Rizzoli, too 💗

There is another side of Bologna in Kimi’s story: the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, where children and teenagers spend Christmas in hospital. Let’s pause here for a moment. Alongside the trophies and standings, there is a young man who comes home and visits people going through difficult days.

On 21 December 2024, shortly after returning from London for Christmas, Antonelli visited the Rizzoli with his father, bringing gifts for the young patients. He was also accompanied by operating-theatre radiographer Gianluca Pini, who organised the visit with Domenica Santina Catamo, the hospital’s patient wellbeing promotion lead.

Think about it: you are eighteen, about to begin your Formula 1 adventure with Mercedes, and home for Christmas. Among the people you choose to visit are children and teenagers in hospital. We love this little piece of his story.

And the following year, he came back. With gifts and time to be there

On 20 December 2025, Kimi returned to the Rizzoli for the second consecutive year. He brought gifts for patients and Christmas wishes for their families and hospital staff. There were photographs, autographs and smiles, and the visit was warmly received by patients and staff.

It is the fact that he came back that stays with us. One visit in 2024, another in 2025. As his life changed, he made room for that meeting again. Here at CHIARA!, we want to give space to this Kimi, too: the young driver who returns to Bologna and stops by to see the young patients at the Rizzoli.

Third at the finish, first in the world

A little clarification if you caught the celebrations but missed the race: Max Verstappen won the Grand Prix, ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Antonelli won the championship with third place. Finishing ninth would have been enough, whatever the results of his remaining title rivals.

Easy, then? Add a start from fourth, a 71-lap race, a red flag following Valtteri Bottas’s accident and a late Safety Car. Every restart can unsettle what seemed under control. For Kimi, it meant staying focused on the race while everyone waited to find out whether this would be his day.

After the red flag, he found himself fourth. Passing Charles Leclerc at Turn 1 put him back on the podium. From there, he completed the race behind Verstappen and Hamilton. The title arrived with four rounds still to go: the Drivers’ Championship was decided, but the season was far from over.

The thank-you before the celebrations

When he finds the words to describe his feelings, Kimi makes room for others. For Mercedes, which gave him the opportunity, for his family and for his friends. In his post-race comments, he thanks the people who accompanied him along the way and describes the tension of knowing how close the goal was.

“I also have to thank my family, my friends and everyone who has been there for me along the way.”

It is a simple sentence, and that is precisely why it reaches us. As he receives an enormous honour, he also acknowledges what he has been given. Watching sport, we see one driver inside a car. His thanks remind us of all the people a camera cannot fit into a single frame.

Watch the official Mercedes video: Kimi Antonelli — You Are the Formula One World Champion ↗

Before that helmet, a child in a kart

The journey began long before Mexico. Andrea Kimi Antonelli was born in Bologna on 25 August 2006. His father Marco is a former racing driver and runs Antonelli Motorsport. Kimi started karting at seven: a passion nurtured in a family already closely acquainted with motorsport.

In April 2019, aged 12, he joined Mercedes’ junior programme. Karting titles followed, then single-seaters and the Italian and German Formula 4 championships in 2022. He won the European Formula Regional championship in 2023; in 2024 he moved to Formula 2, winning at Silverstone and Budapest. His Formula 1 debut came in Melbourne in 2025.

Listing those steps takes a paragraph. Living them took years. It is the detail we can miss when a victory seems to arrive out of nowhere: we have witnessed the final part of work that began much earlier.

The people who kept believing

On the day of the title, Toto Wolff also looks back at the difficult moments of Kimi’s first season. The Mercedes team principal recalls doubts about whether Antonelli was ready and deserved the seat. The team maintained its faith in his talent, even when the results were not enough to convince everyone.

For a young person, being given a chance also means being allowed to learn while others watch. Here, expectations were enormous and there was little room to learn quietly. Wolff’s account restores a less glamorous but necessary part of the success: the difficulties faced before getting there.

Applause from a rival

And then there is George Russell. His team-mate and championship rival endured a difficult Sunday in Mexico, finishing sixth. After the race, he found the time to congratulate Kimi on winning the title.

It is a gesture worth keeping beside the trophy. Disappointment for yourself and happiness for someone whose achievement you recognise can belong to the same day. You do not have to pretend losing is enjoyable to applaud someone who has done better.

The next round is in Brazil, on 6–8 November. There is more racing to come. For now, let him enjoy this celebration: a young man crying inside his helmet, a world title and so many people to thank. If your own good news arrived today, who would you call first?

The opening photograph shows the Monza podium: an archive image from Kimi’s journey before the title won in Mexico.