One of the highlight moments of a successful F1 driver’s Grand Prix weekend is celebrating with champagne on the podium. There’s a condition for that, as they have to finish in the top three.
However, they also have to be of legal drinking age, which is something that was seldom discussed in F1 over the last few years. Kimi Antonelli’s arrival, however, changed that.
Antonelli is just a teenager. He’s the youngest on the grid and earlier this season became the youngest to ever lead a race at 18 years and 224 days. The Italian has also been incredibly consistent, finishing out of the points just once in his five races so far.
As a result, there are hopes that Antonelli can possibly be in contention for the podium at the next round, which takes place in Miami. But can he sip some ice-cold champagne on the podium steps if he does? Sadly no.
In Florida, one has to be at least 21 to consume alcoholic beverages. And Antonelli, recently, was harshly reminded of the same.
F1 commentator David Croft was part of a segment with the Bologna-born driver and Mercedes’ reserve driver Valtteri Bottas when he said, “Miami could be tricky if that’s your first win, cause obviously, you won’t be old enough to drink the champagne“.
Antonelli didn’t put up a fight, realizing that there was no way he could break the wall. But almost immediately, he had a solution, and for that, he turned to Bottas.
“I’ll bring Valtteri with me, so he can do the drinking for me. I’ll spray the champagne, and then Valtteri is going to be drinking the whole bottle,” Antonelli stated, as he shook hands with the Finn.
Bottas has had his share of champagne celebrations during his stint with Mercedes between 2017-2021. He won 10 races for the Silver Arrows and stood on the podium 54 times in total.
So if Antonelli is truly looking for someone experienced on that front, he can simply turn to Bottas to help complete his celebrations. Unfortunately for Bottas, he can’t officially have the bottle to himself in Miami, or most likely any other race this season.
#OnThisDay in 2017, @ValtteriBottas scored his very first F1 win ️
A mighty start at lights out put VB into first, and he never looked back pic.twitter.com/1Z6jOor0Np
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 30, 2025
That’s because he doesn’t have a full-time seat and is only fulfilling behind-the-scenes duties for the Brackley-based squad. Bottas is partaking in simulator sessions, helping in the development of Mercedes’ 2026 car, and at the same time, he is mentoring Antonelli.
Speaking of what he has learned from Bottas, Antonelli said earlier this year, “He has been really nice to me. And especially on the weekends, when I was struggling, he was always there trying to give me advice, and definitely was a good help.” So, whether it’s advice related to racing or help in finishing a bottle he legally can’t drink, Bottas is Antonelli’s go-to man.
