Kimi Antonelli has revealed details of his celebrations after being crowned Formula 1 world champion, along with some of the messages he received in the aftermath of his historic triumph. The 20-year-old Italian finished third in Sunday's Mexico City Grand Prix to become the sport's youngest-ever drivers' title winner, achieving the feat with four rounds of the 2026 season still remaining. Despite having the final leg of a triple-header to come this weekend with the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil, a party was held on Sunday night in Mexico at which Antonelli said he did not hold back.
Asked whether Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord had been the "biggest party animal", Antonelli told Sky Sport Germany: "Bradley's good. But I was not joking either. I try to avoid that as much as possible, also because I prefer eating pasta ragu from my mother.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "But that night, I was like, it's such a special occasion, I've got to go full out. "The thing is, because I'm not used to it, after very little I was already feeling it. But I just kept going, all the way until the end.
"It was not easy to wake up. And my body wasn't in the best of states, let's say. We had a lot of fun together with the team.
Also, my dad was there, some of my friends were there. "It was the best way to celebrate such a special day. But now we're back at it again, and the focus is to try and win." The extremely popular Antonelli was inundated with congratulations after sealing the title, starting with fellow world champions Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, who shared the podium with the Italian in Mexico.
Antonelli revealed he had received further messages from Verstappen and Hamilton, along with reigning world champion Lando Norris and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. He also confirmed he had been congratulated by fellow Italian sports stars Valentino Rossi and Jannik Sinner. However, Antonelli was particularly enthused by a video message he received from retired four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel.
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