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Max Verstappen showed who he really is with is actions in parc ferme after the Mexico City Grand Prix. He won the race but the day was not about him. Instead, all the focus was on Kimi Antonelli who finished the race third but confirmed his status as Formula One world champion by doing so. In only his second year on the grid, the Italian has smashed records and is now the youngest world champion in the sport's history, aged 20 years, two months and seven days.
And what a setting for that to be celebrated. The top three drivers pulled over in the stadium section of the circuit so they could celebrate their results in front of thousands of fans, and for Antonelli it was a special moment with his Mercedes colleagues there to celebrate the moment with him.
As were his family – his father, mother and sister all in parc ferme to mark the occasion with him. After climbing out of his car, he was embraced by Lewis Hamilton before walking across to Verstappen.
The Dutchman had already made a beeline for Antonelli's father, Marco, hugging and congratulating him while also taking the time to shake hands with Antonelli's mother and sister too. He then turned to his approaching rival and gave him a warm embrace.
Verstappen then said on the microphone: "It's incredible what a season he's had, and to do that also at such a young age, it's really, really impressive. It's amazing to see the whole team celebrating with him and his family is here as well. I'm sure this is a very emotional day for him and I'm very proud of him."
Hamilton was also full of praise for what the 20-year-old has achieved. He said: "A huge congratulations to Kimi and the Mercedes team. It's great to see them all out here celebrating this success. To be the youngest world champion ever is pretty phenomenal and I'm so grateful to be in the race to witness it."
Antonelli knew he was likely to leave Mexico City as the world champion. He only had to finish ninth or higher if either Hamilton or George Russell won. Because neither of them did, he was going to be crowned anyway regardless of his own result.
Still, Antonelli was overcome with emotion after taking the chequered flag. His race engineer Peter 'Bono' Bonnington confirmed over the radio that he was the new world champion, to which the Italian could only respond with sniffs and sobs as he cried with joy.
Once he had composed himself enough to speak, Antonelli said: "We did it. Without Mercedes, without my family, I wouldn't be here. I'm very grateful for this moment, it's one that I'll relive forever. I'm speechless. I'm trying to process what's just happened.
"It's been an incredible season. To share this podium with Max and Lewis is incredible. I'm looking forward to some more battles in the future. This weekend I did feel a bit more tense, but I'm just so happy that we got it done. Now we can just enjoy the rest of the season."
Antonelli also received a huge hug from team boss Toto Wolff, who lifted the driver off the ground with an enormous grin on his face. His initial reaction to the media was to mock those who questioned Mercedes' decision to hand Antonelli the keys to the Mercedes seat vacated by Hamilton when the seven-time world champion left for Ferrari.
The Austrian said: "'Why did you put this kid in the car? Who is Kimi Antonelli?' This is Kimi Antonelli. Incredible. Also today, just completely serene. That's what makes him so different."
Big moments. Packed grandstands. A championship battle that’s heating up.
When the Formula 1 season delivers like this, watching from home just isn’t the same as being there when the lights go out.
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