10 of the best tears of joy moments in F1 history following Kimi Antonelli’s emotional maiden win

Years of relentless work and sacrifice go into becoming a Formula 1 driver, so it’s no surprise that finally reaching that elusive first victory or Championship can bring tears of joy – not just for themselves, but for their engineers, team bosses, fellow racers, families and everyone who has been a part of their journey to that point.

Following Kimi Antonelli’s heartwarming reaction to his maiden victory at the Chinese Grand Prix, we’ve picked out some of those before him who experienced the same all-encompassing joy…

Lando Norris wins the Drivers’ Championship (2025)

McLaren knew that they could launch a real challenge for the Drivers’ Championship title in 2025, having won the Teams’ Championship the year before. Norris was on the up and, in his seventh season with the squad, finally reached the high that he could only have dreamed of back when he debuted in 2019.

The Briton had been with McLaren through thick and thin, gradually ticking off every milestone – first podium (2020 Austrian Grand Prix), first pole position (2021 Russian Grand Prix), and first win (2024 Miami Grand Prix). Working with the team to improve year on year meant that when he arrived at the 2025 finale in the midst of a three-way battle for the crown, the emotions were even more heightened than usual.

Having taken advantage of Oscar Piastri’s drop in form, Norris stayed cool amid Max Verstappen’s incredible comeback in the latter half of the season, doing exactly what he needed to become World Champion by just two points in Abu Dhabi.

The significance of his historic achievement hit him as he took the chequered flag, prompting raucous cheers and cries of both laughter and tears over the radio as he praised his team and family.

Lewis Hamilton makes history at Silverstone (2024)

By the 2024 British Grand Prix, it was public knowledge that it would be Hamilton’s final season with the Silver Arrows. After 12 years and six titles, he decided that a new challenge was needed, and that’s exactly what Ferrari offered.

Mercedes’ dominance had dropped off during the Red Bull resurgence of the early 2020s, leaving Hamilton without a Grand Prix victory since 2021. That drought finally came to an end at Silverstone, where he mastered the mixed conditions to beat Verstappen and Norris to the line.

It became his ninth win at Silverstone, smashing the record for most victories at a single circuit. The combination of waiting years for another win and achieving it in Britain made it all the more special as Hamilton draped the Union Flag over his shoulders, soaking up the adulation from his home crowd.

Pierre Gasly stuns at Monza (2020)

In a year that Hamilton absolutely dominated – we’ll get to that shortly – the Italian Grand Prix provided an injection of drama that demonstrated no one should ever be underestimated in this sport.

The Briton was on course for another win in the shortened 2020 season before he was handed a penalty for illegally entering the pit lane in what was a rare error by Mercedes. A near certain victory fell apart as he dropped down the order, promoting AlphaTauri’s Gasly – who was on what turned out to be a flawless strategy – to the front.

Despite a relentless attack from McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, he clung on to take his maiden win at one of the most iconic circuits. The first Frenchman to stand on the top step since Olivier Panis in 1996, Gasly seemed overwhelmed by a mixture of disbelief, jubilation and wonder as he sat on the podium with his head in his hands just over a year on from his Red Bull senior team demotion.

Hamilton claims a record-equalling seventh title (2020)

As we’ve touched on, 2020 was one of Hamilton’s greatest seasons, culminating in his seventh World Championship to equal Michael Schumacher’s phenomenal record. Trimmed to 17 races due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Briton took 10 pole positions and 11 victories to match his previous personal best in even fewer rounds than before.

Having already set a new record for the most wins with a whopping 92, Hamilton arrived at the Turkish Grand Prix with the opportunity to seal the title with another three races still to go. It didn’t get off to the best start as he lost time in the slippery conditions while Lance Stroll took a shock pole position, leaving the Mercedes driver to start from sixth on the grid.

A messy race unfolded and allowed Hamilton to take advantage of those making mistakes around him – by the time the chequered flag fell, he had opened up a gap of over 30s to Sergio Perez and clinched the title. Understandably speechless to begin with, he eventually sent out an inspiring radio message, saying: “That’s for all the kids out there who dream the impossible.”

Nico Rosberg beats Hamilton to glory (2016)

For much of Rosberg’s time at Mercedes, he and Hamilton had what you might call a turbulent on-track relationship, and that didn’t change when the German had the chance to win his one and only World Championship at the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

All Rosberg needed was to finish on the podium so he opted for a more cautious drive at lights out, which eventually led to him needing to overtake a fearless Verstappen. Under immense pressure, he executed the move cleanly but faced the even more stressful hurdle of Hamilton choosing to back up the pack in the final laps.

He did so in the hope that Rosberg would come under attack by their rivals further behind, but the German held on until the end of the race and finished second, securing the title by five points over Hamilton.

Cutting a tearful figure in the post-race press conference, Rosberg soaked up the sudden end to what was a fraught, hard-fought season, suitably followed it up with extensive celebrations and, just five days later, announced his retirement from the sport.

Fernando Alonso shines in Valencia (2012)

The European Grand Prix perfectly encapsulated Alonso’s tenacity as he started from 11th on the grid before embarking on an overtaking rampage to progress to P4. In a remarkably hectic race, he then gained third place from Hamilton, who lost out due to a problem during a pit stop.

At a Safety Car restart, the Spaniard dispatched second-placed Romain Grosjean and set his sights on an unexpected victory, which still seemed unlikely as Sebastian Vettel had controlled the race perfectly up to that point.

However, the German was forced to retire with alternator failure late on, promoting Alonso to first place to round out a world class drive from the Ferrari racer. The resulting tears on the podium were more than justified, and the race is remembered as one of his greatest for the Scuderia.

Vettel is crowned at 23 years old (2010)

One of the most dramatic seasons in F1 history ended with Vettel taking over the mantle of the sport’s youngest World Champion, despite arriving at the finale as the third-placed driver in the standings.

Fifteen points adrift of Ferrari’s Alonso and seven behind his Red Bull team mate Mark Webber, the odds were well and truly stacked against Vettel – until he took pole position at Yas Marina, that is. Overtaking at the circuit was notoriously challenging, which caused the pit stops to play a major role in the result.

While Alonso and Webber emerged in traffic that they couldn’t fight back past, Vettel extended his first stint until he had a big enough buffer to come out behind Jenson Button, who subsequently had to pit himself. The calculated drive saw the German edge out Alonso by four points to the title even though he hadn’t led the standings at any point that season.

While Vettel surrendered to the outpouring of emotion, perhaps one of the most legendary radio messages followed as his race engineer Guillaume Rocquelin raved: “Du bist weltmeister!”

Schumacher realises he matched Ayrton Senna’s record (2000)

Essentially, everything sentimental that could have possibly happened at the 2000 Italian Grand Prix, did. Schumacher had missed the round at Monza the previous season after breaking his leg, and racing there as a Ferrari driver is something no one wants to miss out on.

Upon his return, the Tifosi were as passionate as ever and cheered the German to his 41st career win, which brought him level with Senna in second place on the all-time list of victors. This statistic was pointed out in the ensuing press conference, provoking Schumacher to cry as he remembered the legacy of his former rival, who had tragically passed away six years prior.

Making the win even more meaningful, it was his first in six races and brought him back into contention for that season’s championship, which Schumacher ultimately won by 19 points over McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen.

Rubens Barrichello’s long wait for victory comes to an end (2000)

After taking part in 123 Grands Prix, Barrichello finally claimed his maiden victory by mastering mixed conditions at Hockenheim, shouldering the additional pressure of being the sole Ferrari left in the race after Schumacher collided with Giancarlo Fisichella.

Starting from 18th on the grid, the Brazilian’s chance of points looked slim, let alone a win. Nevertheless, a spectacular performance saw him force his way through to fourth place on the first stint before pit stops and a Safety Car shook up the order.

Amazed that he had gained so many positions, Barrichello then opted to stay on slicks as the conditions worsened and he ended up leading the race while Hakinnen switched to wet tyres. Parts of the track were drier than others, creating a game of cat and mouse on the final laps as the Finn gained on Barrichello in the damp sections before losing ground.

The emotion struck him immediately as he clung on to cross the line in first place, and he was later photographed crying on the podium, making the most of this eagerly awaited win.

Senna storms to victory in Brazil (1991)

Winning your home race is a unique feat, acting as a reminder of a driver’s roots and how far they’ve come in their careers. But it doesn’t come that easily, with many suffering the so-called ‘home race curse’ that appears to give disproportionate bad luck on the weekend they want to perform their best.

It was real for Senna, who had stood on the rostrum in Brazil but never on the top step, but his best opportunity came as he took pole position in 1991. Although he made an excellent launch at lights out, the constant challenge of Nigel Mansell closing down the gap ensured that it was not a trouble-free race.

Fortunately for the race leader, Mansell ended up 34s behind after two pit stops. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to spectators, the gearbox on Senna’s McLaren began to deteriorate – as the remaining laps ticked down, he lost fourth gear, followed by third and fifth.

Things went from bad to worse as the threat of rain grew and, while Mansell suffered an issue, his Williams team mate Riccardo Patrese was fast approaching. Stuck in sixth gear in heavy rainfall, it was miraculous that Senna persisted and took the chequered flag 2.991s clear of Patrese to secure a home victory at the eighth time of asking.

A manifestation of the pain and ecstasy he felt as he crossed the line came out in a passionate scream over the radio before he overpowered his exhaustion to hold the trophy aloft on the podium, much to the delight of his home crowd.