Ralf Schumacher has revealed the F1 paddock’s unprecedented reaction to Kimi Antonelli clinching the 2026 title at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Lando Norris’ stint as the F1 world champion has come to an end in less than 12 months, with Kimi Antonelli etching his name in history as the 2026 title-winner following his P3 finish in Mexico City.

The McLaren ace’s title feat last year was hailed as being ‘good for Formula 1’ due to his friendly and candid nature, something that may have been absent during Max Verstappen’s four-year-long reign at the precipice of the sport’s standings.

However, Antonelli may have also taken that mantle away from Norris with his title feat this year, too, with Ralf Schumacher detailing just how popular Antonelli’s clinching of the 2026 champion was inside the F1 paddock.

Ralf Schumacher has never seen such a positive reception for a new world champion

“It’s something quite special and something new,” he began, before adding: “I think, though, that’s also because Kimi came onto the scene so young and so quickly, and became world champion so fast.

“I can’t remember a single world championship that was so unreservedly positive, where everyone was genuinely happy for the new world champion. I haven’t heard a single negative comment about Kimi Antonelli.

“I don’t think he’s actually had any major collisions with anyone so far, apart from Max Verstappen – and even then, he apologised straight away.

“He’s just such a decent bloke through and through – a racing driver who’s fair, overtakes, is tough but fair. And somehow everyone was happy for him and everyone was blown away.”

The career-defining weekend wasn’t entirely smooth for Antonelli, however, with the Mercedes driver going on to reveal that an interaction with a fan ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix left him ‘angry’.

Premature offers of congratulations frustrated Antonelli inside the paddock, due to his superstitious nature and concerns of a potential jinx. In the end, it didn’t matter in the slightest, with his podium finish seeing him stretch out an unassailable 119-point lead over Verstappen in the standings.

Karun Chandhok echoes Ralf Schumacher’s sentiments on the F1 paddock after Kimi Antonelli’s title win

Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok shared similar comments to his German counterpart during a post-Mexico City Grand Prix episode of .

“For me, when I saw him get out of the car there with his family and just seeing the emotions come out at that point, I had tears,” the former F1 driver told his co-hosts.

“It was just an amazing story because he must be the most likeable world champion we have ever had in the sport. There is not a single person in that paddock who he has a beef with or has a bad word to say about him.

“He is just a wonderful young man and I mean, my goodness, at 20 years old, to say he’s achieved a life’s ambition – that’s outrageous, isn’t it? He’s only probably lived a quarter of his life.

“It was amazing, and the scenes afterwards when they were playing the Italian music and all of that stuff, you could just see how much it meant to him.”

The Italian’s next port of call now will be to take part in a victory parade in the final four rounds of racing this year before looking to defend his maiden title next year.

Antonelli has already identified Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton as his biggest threats next year, with teammate George Russell also being outlined as a potential challenger to his sovereignty.