Toto Wolff believes that the image of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen lifting Kimi Antonelli during the celebration of the young Italian’s title, on the podium at the Mexican Grand Prix, will go down in Formula 1 history. The Mercedes boss described the snapshot as a symbol of the passing of the torch between generations of drivers in the sport.
Hamilton and Verstappen finished the Mexican GP in second and third places, respectively, and joined in the celebration of Antonelli’s first world title on the podium. For Wolff, the coincidence of the three sharing that moment gave the photograph a particularly meaningful resonance.
“I think this will be the iconic photo for many decades to come. What an interesting coincidence that they finished in second and third and lifted him. It’s almost like three generations of drivers. They appear every ten years, and they had the potential future champion on their shoulders when he won his first world championship,” Wolff told the BBC.
The executive linked the scene to the various recent phases of the sport. Hamilton represents the generation that propelled Mercedes to dominance in Formula 1, while Verstappen assumed a leading role during Red Bull Racing’s period of success. Antonelli, for his part, embodies a new era, now as world champion.
This moment also holds a special significance for Wolff, who has followed the Italian’s development since his early days in Mercedes’ junior driver program.
The head of the team also attributed a sizeable portion of Antonelli’s success to the education he received at home. In the Austrian’s assessment, the values imparted by his parents helped the Italian driver cope with the demands and pressure of a career in motorsport.
“His parents are truly simple and humble people. His father is a racer and runs his own teams. They have the right values. They are humble, loyal, and respectful. Therefore, they certainly played an important part in shaping Kimi into the person he is today,” he stated.
Marco Antonelli, father of Formula 1’s newest champion, brings experience in motorsport as a driver and team owner. This bond with racing brought Kimi closer to the sport from an early age and followed his path from karting, through the junior single-seater categories, and subsequently in Formula 1 with Mercedes, since 2025.
