Kimi Antonelli capped off his most complete F1 weekend yet with an emotional post-race moment at Interlagos. After finishing second in the 2025 Brazilian Grand Prix, the 19-year-old Mercedes rookie ran over to embrace Max Verstappen in parc fermé, in a genuine show of respect after a fierce on-track battle.The Sao Paulo weekend marked Antonelli’s first-ever Sprint podium on Saturday and his second career Grand Prix podium on Sunday, cementing his growing reputation as one of the season’s most promising youngsters. Starting on the front row alongside Lando Norris, the young Italian survived a chaotic race filled with penalties, safety cars, and a late charge from the reigning champion.As the drivers pulled up to parc fermé, Lando Norris sprinted toward his McLaren team to celebrate, while Antonelli headed straight for Verstappen. The clip, shared by @Semmieeef1 on X, quickly went viral with the caption:“The way Kimi runs over to Max🥹”Kimi Antonelli started strong, maintaining position in the opening laps, before the chaotic Lap 6 restart that claimed Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and drew a penalty for Oscar Piastri. Despite the clash, the Italian regrouped and ran a steady race behind Norris, holding off Verstappen in the closing stages to finish just 0.362 seconds ahead of the Red Bull.Speaking after the race, Antonelli admitted that he was surprised by Max Verstappen, via F1.com:“I don’t know where this guy came from, to be honest! I didn’t see it coming. The last lap was very stressful with Max coming with fresher tires. With free air, we were able to maintain a decent pace and finish P2.”He continued:“I found my rhythm. Obviously when he was closing in, I raised the pace and started to push a bit more. With these cars, in dirty air it’s a bit difficult to follow so I tried to use that to my advantage and it paid off... It was definitely the most complete weekend of the season so far.”With George Russell finishing fourth, Mercedes scored one of its strongest results of 2025, while Kimi Antonelli’s 18-point haul lifted him to seventh in the standings with 122 points - the highest among this year’s rookies.“I tried my best to give space to both”: Kimi Antonelli on clash with Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc(L-R) Charles Leclerc (16), Kimi Antonelli (12), and Oscar Piastri (81) during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil. Source: GettyKimi Antonelli’s podium was far from straightforward. The defining moment came on Lap 6, moments after the first Safety Car restart. Heading into Turn 1, he found himself sandwiched between Oscar Piastri’s McLaren on the inside and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari on the outside, both chasing Lando Norris for second place.Piastri dived for the inside line but failed to get fully alongside Antonelli before the apex. The McLaren locked up and pushed the Mercedes, sliding into Leclerc. The Ferrari lost its front-left tire and retired on the same lap, while Piastri received a 10-second penalty for the collision.Antonelli recalled the chaotic moment afterward, via F1:“I was in a bit of a difficult position because I had Oscar on the inside and Charles on the outside. I tried my best to give space to both. I didn’t really see the crash – I just know Oscar locked up and at the apex I got hit. I ended up going into Charles, which was a shame because I ended up crashing with him and he had to retire. It’s not what I wanted, but on my side, I was very lucky to keep going.”Mercedes quickly confirmed over team radio that Kimi Antonelli’s car had escaped major damage, allowing him to continue with full pace. His P2 finish puts Mercedes second in the Constructors standings with 398 points, well clear of Red Bull (366) and Ferrari (362).