Emotional Mercedes message to Antonelli after maiden win at F1 Chinese GP

The 19-year-old took a fantastic win at the Shanghai International Circuit to become just the seventh Mercedes driver in the team's history to win a F1 Grand Prix, with that milestone coming in just his second season at the German team.

Teammate George Russell, race engineer Peter 'Bono' Bonnington and former Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton all joined the Italian on an emotional podium.

It's been an impressive journey for Antonelli, and it's one that an emotional Lagrue was full of joy about.

"It’s hard to put into words the feeling we all had watching those final laps in China, seeing you hit every apex on the way to your first Formula One victory," Lagrue wrote.

After Antonelli's maiden Grand Prix win in Shanghai, the 19-year-old had several messages of congratulations, including from 2016 World Champion and former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg.

Of course, Rosberg battled with teammate Lewis Hamilton for years while Mercedes dominated proceedings, and Toto Wolff admitted that he hopes a similar intra-team rivalry with Antonelli and Russell won't occur in 2026.

But despite guiding Antonelli to his first Grand Prix win as his race engineer, Bonnington calmed expectations about a title challenge this campaign, stating: "To win one [Grand Prix], that’s great. To win a championship, it’s exponential with the effort that goes into it, and I think it’s taking it a step at a time."