Max Verstappen appeared to aim a swipe at George Russell as he congratulated Kimi Antonelli on his Formula 1 world title triumph, praising the Italian for doing an 'unbelievable job compared to his team-mate'.
Antonelli made history by becoming the youngest champion in the sport's history with a third-place finish at a chaotic Mexico City Grand Prix. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver kept his composure in an action-packed race that saw the internal tension between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at Ferrari reach boiling point.
Verstappen came out on top, with Hamilton finishing second, but it was Antonelli who took all the glory in the aftermath. The youngster beat Sebastian Vettel's previous record as the youngest champion by three years and 66 days. The last Italian to claim the F1 title was Alberto Ascari back in 1953.
Emotional celebrations
'Thank you so much. We did it. We did it,' an emotional Antonelli said on the Mercedes team radio. He later paid tribute to his late grandfather, fighting back the tears while joking that he had 'cried way too much' over the course of an unforgettable day.
'I think he would be very proud,' Antonelli added. 'Oh my god, I've cried way too much today! But it's good. Yeah, I just got very emotional because of my grandfather so I was very happy also for him.'
Antonelli's team-mate Russell enjoyed an encouraging start in Mexico but finished sixth after an 'unexpected lack of deployment' cost him several places. Russell was also handed a ten-second penalty for a collision with Red Bull's Isack Hadjar and was excused from his post-race media duties by Mercedes.
Wolff defends Russell
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff later explained: 'I saw George after the race and obviously he's distraught about the situation. It was a great show of sportsmanship to go and see Kimi [after the race]… I know as a sports person that he is going through such a hard time. So I saw him and for a racing driver this is a catastrophic moment. And maybe today the race was a little bit a picture of his season. This was a race for him to win. We had the pace in the car, and we let him down on the first straight. I'm very much with him at the moment. I've been in situations where it's very difficult to cope. So his not doing the media work or leaving the track is absolutely understandable.'
Verstappen, who finished second in the overall standings, appeared to have little sympathy for Russell as he spoke to Sky Sports' Craig Slater from the paddock. The pair have history after several heated moments down the years, perhaps the most notable coming in 2024 when Russell claimed 'bully' Verstappen had threatened to put his 'f***ing head in the wall'.
Verstappen's verdict
When asked if Antonelli was a deserved champion, Verstappen replied: 'Absolutely, of course, I think in his second season to to do something like this… You can, argue of course, that over the whole season, of course, they had let's say the best package. But still, compared to his team-mate, I think he has done an unbelievable job.'
Having won the title on four occasions previously, Verstappen said he knew just how many 'unknowns' Antonelli must have overcome to emerge victorious at such a young age.
'I know for myself, when you're in your second season, there are still so many unknowns,' he added. 'Sometimes that's a good thing to be unknown because you drive free, but at the same time it's also easy to make mistakes and he didn't. I think that is very impressive and that's why he also deserves this championship.'
