Here's the thing about racing families: the journey is just as brutal as it is beautiful. Marco Antonelli has finally opened up about his son’s historic World Championship success, achieved at the Mexico City Grand Prix. That unforgettable day saw the 20-year-old cross the line behind race winner Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, securing just enough of a points advantage in the standings to take the crown and spark an emotional family embrace right after he stepped out of the machine.
That celebration was pure relief and joy rolled into one. Marco has backed the Italian throughout his entire motorsport journey, even being spotted in the Mercedes garage at times this season. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, the proud father laid out the simple truth of his son's rise: "Step by step he makes himself stronger and stronger and stronger, and this is the result."
He continued, highlighting the bond they share away from the asphalt: "I'm very lucky because the relationship with my son and with my daughter is special, and this is the best thing in the world that I can have. Of course Kimi is young and needs the shoulder in the difficult and also in happy moments, [to] share the situation with somebody that he believes is on his side. I did nothing special, I did only the job that I think that each father [does] with his son and his family, and so we are here. I'm very proud about it."
The path to this moment was hardly a walk in the park. Starting from P4 on the grid, Antonelli fought his way forward and snatched third from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, landing himself on the podium and officially becoming Italy’s first World Champion in 73 years. The emotional weight of the achievement hit Antonelli senior hard when speaking to F1 TV: "I feel good because you can imagine that, when you achieve one result like this, it's an important result and I'm very happy. I said to him, I don't know if you know, you are the champion. I cried!"
Looking back, the road had some serious bumps. Stepping into the car of a seven-time World Champion last year brought immense pressure that made keeping up performance a very difficult task indeed. But Marco praised his son's resilience through that bad period, noting how the youngster used the experience to restart and improve himself.
For the elder Antonelli, the party didn't need to be hidden away from the circuit. The celebration belonged right there on the track, surrounded by the fans, the media, and the machines that define their world. As he put it simply: "This is my life."
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