Jannik Sinner hails fellow Italian Kimi Antonelli after historic F1 championship win

Tennis star Jannik Sinner congratulated compatriot Kimi Antonelli on winning the 2026 Formula One world championship. Antonelli secured the title with a third-place finish at the Mexico Grand Prix, ending Italy's 73-year wait for another champion

New Delhi: Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner congratulated fellow countryman Kimi Antonelli on becoming the youngest-ever Formula One world champion, sharing a special message for the 20-year-old.

Antonelli broke Sebastian Vettel’s record as the youngest F1 champion when he secured the 2026 title with a third-place finish at the Mexico Grand Prix, with four races still to go.

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In a video shared by F1, Sinner congratulated Antonelli on his historic title win.

“Kimi, you are the new world champion of this year, and it sounds amazing. Congrats on this to your family and, of course, to your whole team. You made the whole country very, very happy and enjoy this beautiful moment. Ciao ciao and see you very soon,” Sinner said.

Meanwhile, Antonelli also became Italy’s first world champion in 73 years. The country had produced three drivers’ titles through Giuseppe “Nino” Farina and Alberto Ascari in the first four years of the sport, from 1950 to 1953, but had to wait another 73 years for an Italian to be crowned champion.

Antonelli was in tears after crossing the finish line in third place (P3) in Mexico, which was enough for him to seal the drivers’ title.

“We did it. And, you know, without them, I wouldn’t be here. Without Mercedes, without my family,” Antonelli said after the race. “So I’m very grateful for this moment, and it’s one that will live forever. And I just, I’m speechless. I’m trying to process what has just happened.”

Meanwhile, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was also ecstatic about the youngster winning the title after many had expressed doubts about him last season.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after Antonelli’s victory, Wolff said that getting him into the Mercedes seat “was always a calculated risk, not a real risk”. He added that it felt like only yesterday that Antonelli was competing in junior karting.

“It’s incredible; we have to pinch ourselves because it seems like yesterday he was 11 years old in the garage in junior karting. And it goes so fast,” he said.

“He won the junior formula, then had a difficult year in F2, and that’s already where people started to doubt. Then when Lewis (Hamilton) told me, ‘I’m going to Ferrari’, it was my immediate reaction that we’ve got to put him in the car. But people were doubters.

“I was thinking before, we had two sponsors leaving us because of that, because who is this kid? There were others who stayed with us until today; some are here that reap the full reward and then the difficult year.

“People said he shouldn’t even be in F1; he should be at a smaller team, 10 races and no points, the tears in Spa, and then this. I’m just so proud of the team; all of them continued to trust him, and he delivered,” Wolff added.