Kimi Antonelli won the Chinese GP on Sunday. It was the first F1 victory for the Mercedes teenager, who also became the first Italian Grand Prix winner since Giancarlo Fisichella in 2006. For the F1 announcer in Shanghai, it took some getting used to having to announce Antonelli on the podium: he blundered and asked the crowd to stand for Kimi Räikkönen.
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The Mercedes team later posted footage of the mistake on social media. It shows Antonelli entering the podium while the speaker talks about former driver Kimi Räikkönen. This leads to surprised looks, although the young Italian can clearly also laugh about the incident. Moreover, it is not strange that some confusion arose in China. This victory was only the fifth top-3 finish for Antonelli, while namesake Räikkönen stood on the podium no fewer than 103 times. So it’s not so strange that some still make a mistake and immediately think of the Finnish former champion.
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Incidentally, Kimi Antonelli is not named after the Iceman. Not a strange thought in itself, given his Italian origins and the history between Ferrari and Räikkönen. Antonelli, whose full name is Andrea Kimi Antonelli, owes his name to a family friend. He liked the name, suggested it to Antonelli’s parents, and they agreed. So it really has nothing to do with the driver from Finland, according to the Italian himself.
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Erm… that doesn’t sound right? 😂 pic.twitter.com/9NsvSRTyse
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 15, 2026
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Read everything about the Chinese GP here
