Kimi Antonelli 'phone exploded' after best day of his life

Kimi Antonelli has joked that his 'phone exploded' following his stunning victory in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.

Antonelli produced one of the greatest drives in F1 history by winning the race at Monza from 19th on the grid, beating team-mate George Russell, who had started from second.

The win means Antonelli has opened up a 66-point cushion over Russell in the drivers' standings with nine or 10 races remaining, depending on the situation in the Middle East and whether the season-closing events in Qatar and Abu Dhabi will be replaced by a final grand prix in Europe.

Antonelli's triumph even resulted in Ferrari's passionate fans, the tifosi, chanting his name as he stood on the podium as the 20-year-old became the first Italian driver to win on home soil in 60 years.

Asked about the messages he received following his success, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring street circuit, Antonelli said: "I received a lot.

"On WhatsApp, when I went into the app after the race, I got so many messages that the app crashed. So I went into the app and got out without even touching the phone because it exploded.

"But I received a lot of nice messages from Jannik [Sinner], [Marco] Bezzechi, Vale [Valentino Rossi], from literally everyone, so it was super nice to see so much support, so much enthusiasm, so much excitement. That was very, very cool.

"It's really hard to pick a message that stood out compared to all the others. All of them were super, super, super nice."

Antonelli reveals what brought him down to earth after Monza madness

Antonelli described what unfolded on Sunday as 'the best day of his life', one he will "remember forever".

The day after, rather than relaxing and basking in the glow of his win, Antonelli's enthusiasm for everything four wheels continued as he opted to go karting, allowing him to put the previous day in context.

"It is sometimes tough to stay calm or not to get too overexcited," said Antonelli. "Monza, that day overall was very exciting. But, for example, going karting on Monday helped me to go back to earth.

"It was a good fun day with with the team, a way to remind myself where I came from, the journey that I've done. So it was a good way to, first of all, have fun, to train, and then also to go back to earth."