It’s safe to assume that Kimi Antonelli will never forget the 2026 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix: 2nd place on Sprint Qualifying, 4th place in the Sprint, his first-ever pole position in GP Qualifying, and the most important one of all, 1st place on the day it counts most; race day. But just as he stepped on the podium to celebrate his first-ever F1 win, the person responsible for calling out the drivers’ names for the podium ceremony called him Kimi Raikkonen. LOL
It’s a silly blunder, and thankfully Antonelli is chill enough to simply laugh it off, but at the same time, what was the announcer thinking? If Raikkonen were still racing in F1, or maybe both Kimis were on the podium, I’d get the confusion, but it’s been years since the Raikkonen name was on any F1 call sheet.
This YouTube short below best captures that moment.
Kimi Raikkonen? Hilarious, announcer gets Kimi Antonelli's name wrong
Regardless, I was very happy to see Antonelli earn his first pole and victory. As the father of a similarly-aged boy, it’s completely mind-blowing to think of the mental and emotional (and physical) stress Antonelli has had to deal with since being announced as a replacement to Lewis Freaking Hamilton at the age of just 17 years old.
The ups and downs the young Italian has had to navigate have been extreme, so to see things go his way and earn him a healthy dose of confidence is very heart-warming to see.
Way to go, Kimi (not Raikkonen).
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