A podium that tastes like redemption
Motorsport Italy is celebrating the victory of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who was able to bring our country back to the top step of the podium in Formula 1, 20 years after the last success in the category by an Italian, Gian Carlo Fisichella in Malaysia in 2006.
The 19-year-old from Bologna was able to react to the many criticisms received last year for a few too many mistakes in his first year of F1, and he did it in the best possible way: pole, victory, and fastest lap.
With him on the podium was also Lewis Hamilton, and the Englishman’s performance is also a redemption, as it is his first top-3 finish in a race since driving for Ferrari.
FormulaPassion.it asked Francesco Cigarini (present on Instagram and on YouTube), a mechatronic mechanic at Ferrari for 22 years, for an opinion on the themes of Shanghai.
Read more Antonelli: “I’m over the moon, I dedicate it to my family. But now I have to keep pushing”
Kimi and Lewis, from China with fury
Francesco Cigarini, Andrea Kimi Antonelli has brought Italy back to winning in Formula 1 after twenty years. What impressed you most about the Mercedes driver’s weekend in China? On the podium, we also find Lewis Hamilton with Ferrari; is it redemption for both after the criticism received in 2025?
“Antonelli, behind his first success, hides – but not too much – a journey started years ago by an all-round manager like Toto Wolff, who believed and provided experience and a team to grow and guide the talent of a boy who has proven his qualities in the right direction.
His opportunity made sense, combined with the courage and vision of Toto, “thanks” also to Lewis’s decision to leave his seat to try the Ferrari adventure.
To date, the doubts that greeted the two moves, Kimi immediately in a top team and Lewis at Ferrari, are finding meaning as they both find themselves on the podium of the Chinese GP.
The result of a patience that the public and teams must often have to achieve results. It happens very often when you are aligned with the vision of the project and push hard on it, despite criticism and missteps.
For Antonelli , there is no doubt that victory increases a driver’s self-awareness and confidence. This weekend Kimi unlocked all of this, and it is a total boost, for him first and foremost and for the team.”
