Circuit Gilles Villeneuve witnessed an emotional podium finish from Kimi Antonelli on the weekend of the Canadian Grand Prix. The young Italian drove a supreme race, finishing in the top three for the first time in his Formula 1 career behind race winner George Russell and Max Verstappen.
It took just 10 races for the 18-year-old to finish on the podium, justifying the faith the Brackley squad had in him since he was but 11 years old.
Talking with Ted Kravitz of Sky Sports F1, Marco Antonelli’s voice was trembling with excitement and pride for his son.
“Unbelievable. After 10 races in Formula 1. He did very well,” the driver’s father said.
Kravitz responded, highlighting the defensive driving from Antonelli as he fought off the two McLaren drivers behind him.
“He did very well. He’s had the first pole, of course, in Miami, now the first podium. The stress. Welcome to Formula 1 with the stress from the McLarens behind, but he dealt with it brilliantly.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images via Getty Images
During the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Antonelli became the youngest driver to claim pole in an F1 race format. This gave us a glimpse of his potential, and today’s podium takes us one step closer to seeing it being fully realised.
“It was so stressful but super happy,” Antonelli said following the race.
“I had a good start, managed to jump into P3 and just stayed up there at the front.
“The last stint I pushed a bit too hard behind Max and I killed a bit the front-left, and struggled a bit at the end, but really happy to bring the podium home.
“Definitely this track has been good for us, the car has been incredible all weekend, and hopefully we can carry the same momentum into the next few races.”
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, Antonelli could lose his podium due to a potential safety car infringement, but this doesn’t take away from his impressive race.
