Kimi Antonelli became Formula 1's youngest-ever world champion at the Mexico City Grand Prix, becoming the first Italian to win the title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

In an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com, his father Marco, a former racing driver and team principal of AKM Motorsport, discusses Kimi's development, his ability to handle pressure and the moment he realised his son could become world champion.

Motorsport.com: Marco, how does it feel to see your son become world champion?

Marco Antonelli: "It's difficult to say. You don't really take it in because it's something so big that it almost feels strange. You fight for a championship just like all the ones he's competed in up to now, and honestly, we don't feel the difference. We haven't really grasped that we're talking about Formula 1."

Will it sink in over the next few days?

MA: "I think so. Today Kimi became world champion and everyone is starting to talk about it, but I still haven't really taken in what he's achieved. Until a few hours ago, there was a title to win, and he prepared for it with the same mentality he's always had. He's approached every race in the same way, trying to do the best possible job each time, without looking at the standings. I don't think anything changes today."

How do you manage the pressure and release the tension?

MA: "There's pressure and there's tension. You can also release the tension with the people around you. When you're about to get into the car, it's not so much pressure as the tension of someone who wants to do well. You've raced too, so you know what it means when you're half an hour away from a race and you start thinking about going out there and trying to win. You deal with the pressure by trying to give 100% every time you go on track, without thinking about the final outcome of the season."

Signboard for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

During that half-hour on the grid you mentioned, Kimi looks for you a lot...

MA: "He looks for me a lot..."

Sometimes it seems that a glance between you is enough, without needing to say anything.

MA: "That's right. And quite often I ask him if he's feeling the tension before a race, and he admits that he is. I tell him that's a positive thing because it's getting the adrenaline going so he can perform at his best.

"Kimi sees me a little as his mentor, so he knows that with a glance he can find support and reassurance. He knows I understand what he's feeling."

Kimi can ask the team anything technical, but when it comes to the person getting into the cockpit, you're the one he turns to...

MA: "Yes, because, as I said earlier, having been a driver myself, although not at his level, I understand what it means to get into a car. Whether you're racing in Formula 1 or GT, drivers always ask themselves the same questions. They wonder: 'What if I don't do well? What will the others think?'

"These are thoughts that inevitably come up for anyone competing in motor racing, or in any high-level competition where the rivalry is intense."

And what does that mean for Kimi?

MA: "Kimi knows I understand him, and that's probably why he looks for me. A glance or a hug can give him that moment of relaxation that helps him maintain his concentration when he gets into the car to deliver a result."

But today your son has become Formula 1 world champion. What does that mean to you?

MA: "It means happiness for him, happiness for me as a father, and happiness for all of us as a family who have always followed him."

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

It feels like something much deeper, rooted in your own passion for racing. You achieved results without having the resources to pursue the professional career you might have deserved. In Super Touring, you were fighting against works cars with privately run machinery, including a BMW M3 you operated yourself with AB Motorsport. What does passing the baton from father to son mean to you? Does Kimi's success make up for what you couldn't achieve yourself?

MA: "Well, perhaps that's a bit of an obvious way of looking at it. My experience may have been useful. Even though I was a fairly quick driver, I never found myself in the right place at the right time."

What do you mean by that?

MA: "When my son started racing, I was afraid he might experience something similar to what I went through. That was my fear, but it didn't happen because Kimi has always done everything well and found himself in the right circumstances. He knew how to make the most of his opportunities.

"And now I feel enormous happiness because my fears proved unfounded. Seeing him achieve what I couldn't gives me an extra sense of satisfaction, but anyone who thinks I want to see myself in him is wrong.

"I had my journey, and he's had his. Kimi has done well because he's brought everything together, and as a family we've created the right conditions for him. Some of my mistakes have been useful because he didn't repeat them.

"We did well to create the right conditions for him. I don't think having experience to draw on is a small thing."

What has Kimi inherited from Marco, and what has he inherited from Veronica?

MA: "We're very similar. We're all stubborn. We don't give up an inch until we've achieved what we set out to do.

"There's dedication to work. I went home after Kimi's victory in Austin because I had my team at Mugello fighting for a title, and commitments have to be honoured.

"That's a value I've passed on to Kimi, just as his mother encouraged him to continue his studies despite his racing."

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

Have you ever thought about closing your team to follow the world champion? Your main business is still your GT and Formula 4 team?

MA: "Exactly. To follow him, I have to split my time and make an extra effort to keep my business going while staying close to him.

"But just because he's in Formula 1 doesn't mean my life or Veronica's has changed. We've remained exactly the same people we've always been."

It can't be easy to remain yourself in an environment as exposed to the media as Formula 1?

MA: "Of course, but because I haven't projected onto him what I wanted to be myself, we're following two separate, parallel paths.

"My career as a driver came to an end at a certain point, while his continues to develop and he's achieving the results he's earned.

"That's why my life doesn't change, and I haven't wanted to mix it with his. As a father, I feel it's my duty to help my son, but I don't want to interfere with his journey, and I maintain my own passions.

"What Kimi has more than me, and perhaps more than Veronica too, is the ability to look ahead when dealing with situations."

Can you explain that?

MA: "Over the years, we've got to know him and adapted a little to his character.

"He never worries about things before they've happened. He never looks at things negatively, and even when something doesn't work, he looks for a solution to put it right.

"It's a great quality he's developed, whereas I was definitely more emotional.

"The other thing that really impresses me is his ability to maintain his concentration."

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images

In that particular respect, there's a similarity with his idol Ayrton Senna, who sought perfection in everything he did...

MA: "Kimi has the ability to shut himself off from the world. And perhaps he got a little of that from me.

"When I was racing and didn't have any money, I prepared customers' cars, but at a certain point I had the ability to switch everything off and think about the fact that I had to drive and perhaps try to win.

"But my son can always find the right words, even in the most negative situations, and he never gets discouraged.

"He doesn't sink down and then have to climb back up. He always manages to maintain his level and keep trying to improve."

Usually, when a talented youngster arrives in Formula 1, the established drivers give him a hard time. Yet Kimi hasn't had any particularly rough treatment from the likes of Verstappen and Hamilton. Is there a reason for that?

MA: "That's a question you'd have to ask them.

"I think he's shown great respect for the champions and has seen that respect returned.

"You shouldn't play dirty tricks. Sporting integrity is important in a competitive environment, and it's a value he brings with him.

"Of course, if they have to go wheel to wheel, none of them backs down, because they're certainly not going to make life easy for one another. But there's always a lot of fairness."

At some races, you don't stay in hotels but travel with your motorhomes. At Monza, you were parked in the enclosed yard of a company in Biassono, near the circuit, alongside Verstappen's and Hamilton's motorhomes. Almost like a little campsite. People imagine Formula 1 drivers staying in the most luxurious hotels, but the reality is different?

MA: "No, no. We try to stay in fairly private places when we're parked up with the motorhomes."

How often does that happen during the year?

MA: "With Max, it happens whenever we decide to stay in the motorhome. But it happens very often with Lewis too, and with others.

"We see each other, have a chat, and then everyone gets on with their own life."

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Alex Bierens de Haan / LAT Images via Getty Images

People in the paddock say you cook for everyone, though. Your pasta is famous...

MA: "No, not for absolutely everyone! But let's say that every now and then there's an opportunity.

"We've never managed to have a proper dinner with Lewis because he's always very busy with sponsors and one thing or another, but it's true that sometimes we have guests such as Stefano Domenicali and Flavio Briatore.

"But I want to make it clear that the Antonelli restaurant is simple: some pasta, a chicken breast and a salad, nothing more.

"I bring everything from home, and then we play a few games of cards. It's all very simple."

It's certainly a world away from the jet-set lifestyle people associate with the F1 paddock...

MA: "We're not interested in that. We don't throw parties, just dinners with friends to enjoy each other's company.

"It's no different from when we were racing in the Italian Touring Car Championship. It's no longer touring cars, it's Formula 1."

Could you get Max and Lewis around the same table at the Antonelli motorhome?

MA: "Lewis has a few more dietary restrictions [he's vegan], so it's a bit more difficult. With Max, there are no restrictions."

Kimi has become world champion. What changes after such a historic achievement?

MA: "It's taken a huge amount of effort to climb to the top of the ladder, but staying there is much harder, so we're already prepared for that.

"For now, we're enjoying the moment. The emotions are very strong."

Marco Antonelli celebrates in parc ferme

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Have you forgotten the heavy criticism Kimi faced last year when the results weren't coming?

MA: "You can't attack a young man who's only been in Formula 1 for six months because there have been some poor results.

"I want to point out that those results weren't always down to him. In fact, he managed to come back from situations that could have destroyed him, because some of the attacks were very harsh.

"His ability to change the course and direction of things, as he did so many times in karting and in championships that seemed lost before he managed to turn everything around, shows Kimi's strength.

"He's adding experience and confidence with the car and the team to his natural talent. He's 20 years old, but his maturity is beyond his age."

How far can he go?

MA: "I think he still has a good margin for improvement, and if you combine that with his mentality of never being satisfied, he'll have the motivation to keep doing well in Formula 1 as long as he has a competitive car.

"I'd be surprised if I were wrong..."

Mercedes' junior programme backed Kimi when he was still a kid, and Toto Wolff has supported him almost like a second father for nine years. Did you ever wonder whether the intense pressure that unsettled your son was something the team had deliberately created to see whether he could withstand it before mounting a world championship challenge?

MA: "I don't know, because those aren't subjects we've explored in depth.

"Kimi tried to give his best, and we tried to help him. It seems to me that he managed to come through it well.

"Everything else doesn't matter..."

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Manuel Eletto / Getty Images

Which race was the turning point in his championship campaign? Some say Monaco, others point to Monza...

MA: "For me, it was the first race of the season, in Australia.

"After the accident in FP3, I never would have thought he'd manage to get back into the car and immediately put it on the front row in qualifying.

"When you have a crash like that, it's inevitable that you lose a little confidence, and perhaps the ghosts of the previous year come back into your mind.

"Kimi did really well, and he gave me yet another demonstration of his ability to turn things around thanks to his mental strength."

Even though George Russell won in Melbourne?

MA: "Yes. He went into qualifying with a car that didn't have a proper set-up because it had only been finished at the very last moment. So he didn't know whether the car was right or wrong.

"Let's say he approached that grand prix with the mentality of wanting to put things right within himself.

"And that's where I saw the champion.

"I knew the season would take a different turn and that he would be a contender. Of course, I couldn't have imagined it would go this far, but I knew he'd be in the fight."

He's the youngest world champion in history. And in just his second F1 season, he's already produced performances that will go down in history and perhaps mark the beginning of a legend...

MA: "I think I know Kimi very well, but there are times when I ask myself how he managed to pull off certain achievements, and not just in Formula 1."

Can you give us some examples?

MA: "When he won the Formula Regional European Championship race at Zandvoort in the wet and was a second quicker than everyone else, or his Formula 4 debut at Monza, or the kart race after his accident at Portimao when he'd broken his leg.

"He's produced extraordinary performances even without testing beforehand. In GT racing at Misano, he finished 23 seconds ahead of everyone else in a car he barely knew, without making a single mistake.

"I remember all of them, and these aren't ordinary or straightforward things. Obviously, I've seen them all, and I know what he's capable of."