Kimi Antonelli was 'uncharacteristic' of any other Italian driver in winning the Chinese Grand Prix, a former Ferrari chief has claimed.
The 19-year-old became F1's youngest race winner since Max Verstappen when he took the chequered flag in Shanghai.
Antonelli qualified on pole position, and although he lost the lead to the fast-starting Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton on lap one, quickly re-overtook him on lap two.
As team-mate George Russell, who had started second but had a slow start, battled with the Ferraris, Antonelli sprinted clear and won his maiden F1 race by 5.5 seconds ahead of Russell.
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That margin would have been even greater had he not suffered a severe lock-up into the penultimate corner on lap 53, with race engineer Peter Bonnington reminding him to 'bring it home' afterwards.
But aside from that error, Antonelli was faultless across the 56 laps to secure the victory.
Speaking to Italian outlet Corriere della Sera, former Ferrari chairman Luca Di Montezemelo - who spearheaded Michael Schumacher's period of dominance between 2000 and 2004 - says he was 'moved' by Antonelli's win and that his performance was something he had never seen before from an Italian driver.
"His victory moved me," he explained.
"He's a 19-year-old who is constantly improving. He'd had trouble starting, yet he didn't lose heart.
"He took the lead and led without hesitation, only taking risks at the end. He showed maturity and composure, uncharacteristic of an Italian, and especially not of someone his age.
"He has his feet on the ground, and I hope he stays that way. All the potential is there, but it was a little annoying to see him in a Mercedes."
Antonelli in a Ferrari?
Di Montezemelo was referring to the fact that Antonelli was not racing for Ferrari, having been signed by Mercedes as a junior driver.
The Italian took Hamilton's place at the Silver Arrows when he left to join the Scuderia ahead of the 2025 season.
It would be something of a fairytale for many to see Antonelli drive for Italy's legendary Formula 1 team, given Ferrari have not employed an Italian driver since 2009.
Luca Badoer, and then Giancarlo Fisichella, stepped in for Felipe Massa midway through the season after the Brazilian suffered a serious head injury in Hungary that ruled him out for the year.
You have to go back all the way to 1988 to find an Italian driver that completed a full season for Ferrari, when Michele Alboreto drove for the team.
Speaking in December 2025, Antonelli did not rule out making the move to Ferrari later in his career - but is currently perfectly happy with Mercedes.
"Ferrari are an incredible team with massive global stature, so of course racing for Ferrari would be amazing," he told Sky Sports F1.
"In the end I'm really happy where I am, and grateful for the opportunity Mercedes have given me. They've supported me all the way from karting through to F1 and have always been by my side.
"I'm very happy to be racing for a team like Mercedes, and the dream and the goal is to win a world championship with them."
Antonelli will hope that this year is the year he can lift the Drivers' Championship - though he will face stern competition from Mercedes team-mate Russell.
Ryan Smart