In Shanghai, the anthems reversed, Schumacher’s echoes gave way to a new Italian voice, and prophecy met fulfilment as a 19‑year‑old claimed his place in Formula One history
By Yong Soo Heong
When the prize‑giving ceremony of the 2026 Formula One Grand Prix in Shanghai unfolded on Sunday, March 15, 2026, it carried with it a haunting echo of an earlier age — the era when Michael Schumacher reigned supreme over the motor‑racing world.
This time, the victor was Kimi Antonelli of Italy, driving for Mercedes AMG Petronas. And when the national anthems rang out, they stirred memories of Schumacher’s dominance — but in reverse.
Back then, it was the German Schumacher who claimed 72 victories with Ferrari, the proud Italian marque, and another 19 with the Renault‑powered Benetton team, also considered Italian.
Time and again, the paddock reverberated with the strains of Deutschlandlied, followed by Il Canto degli Italiani — the German anthem for Schumacher, the Italian anthem for his team. Ninety‑one times in all, the world bore witness to that pairing.
But in Shanghai today, the order was inverted. First came Il Canto degli Italiani, honouring Antonelli’s triumph, and then Deutschlandlied, saluting Mercedes AMG Petronas: a poetic reversal, a symbolic passing of the torch.
It was a moment foreseen. Two years ago, PETRONAS President and Group CEO Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Kamadjaja Aziz had remarked to me, “Watch that young driver — he has plenty of drive and talent.” His words proved prophetic, as Antonelli, at just 19 years and 6 months, became the second-youngest driver ever to win a Formula One race, behind Max Verstappen’s record at 18 years and 7 months in Spain in 2016.
Antonelli’s victory also broke a two‑decade drought for Italy, the first since Giancarlo Fisichella’s win at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix in a Renault R26. That day, Fisichella’s teammate was Fernando Alonso, who finished second at Sepang.
Remarkably, Alonso, 44, is still racing today — a living bridge across generations. From Minardi in 2001, where Malaysia’s Alex Yoong once drove, to Renault, where Alonso claimed his 2005 and 2006 world titles, through McLaren and Ferrari, and now with Aston Martin, his career endures as a testament to resilience and passion for almost a quarter of a century.
Thus, Shanghai 2026 was more than a race. It was a symphony of memory and renewal — a reminder of Schumacher’s glory, a vindication of Petronas’s foresight, and the dawn of Antonelli’s promise.
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