Having enjoyed a moment he said he would remember forever, an emotional Kimi Antonelli was moved to tears once more in remembering his grandfather after the Italian won the Formula One world championship at the Mexican Grand Prix.

In turn, his fellow drivers were unstinting in their praise for the new champion, who took his debut title with third place at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Among those was Lewis Hamilton, but the British driver also delivered a stern rebuke to his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

Antonelli became the youngest world champion at 20 in Mexico, sharing a podium with race winner Max Verstappen and second-placed Hamilton. He has taken the title in only his second year in the sport after a remarkable season, in which he took nine wins.

Alone on the front of the podium after the award ceremony, Antonelli was clearly affected as the PA played Nessun Dorma from Puccini’s Turandot. The young driver endearingly wears his heart on his sleeve and had looked barely able to take it all in. When asked about it afterwards he revealed it had been a particularly moving moment.

“It was very emotional for me because it was a song that my grandfather used to listen to always, so it was very special to hear that,” he said, before having to stop speaking because he was once more in tears. He was given an encouraging round of applause by the attendant media.

Having composed himself he continued. “I think he would be very proud,” he said. “Oh my God, I’ve cried way too much today but it’s good. I just got very emotional because of my grandfather and I was very happy also for him.

“It’s a special moment,” Antonelli said earlier. “One that we’ll remember forever”. His race engineer Peter Bonnington suggested this may well be the first of many. “It’s a pleasure to be on the journey with you, but it’s just the first chapter,” he said.

The defending champion Lando Norris led what were fulsome tributes to the well-liked driver who had taken his crown, emphasising that he felt Antonelli had been exceptional.

“He’s done an insane job. I feel like people are not giving him enough credit for what he’s achieved this year,” said Norris “He’s beaten the teammate that’s been in the sport for four times longer than him. Who was also very good and who took the battle to Lewis Hamilton.”

His achievement was perhaps not appreciated, Norris suggested, because the Italian had been so good he had made it look easy. “[Yes] 100% he’s made it look like an easy year. They say he’s not had much competition or anything, but that’s because he slapped his competition. I think he’s done an unbelievable job. Incredible, incredible job.”

Verstappen and Hamilton lifted Antonelli onto their shoulders on the podium to accept the roaring approval of the crowd. The four-time and seven-time champions were generous in their praise too.

“To achieve this in your second year in Formula One is always very impressive,” Verstappen said. “At his age as well, to be so solid, not make big mistakes and beat your experienced teammate, he’s just driven incredibly. I’m very proud of him, how he has handled himself this whole season.”

Those feelings were echoed by Hamilton, who first encountered Antonelli when he was taken on as a Mercedes junior aged 12. “To see a youngster such as Kimi come through from being the little kid standing in the back of the garage, to replacing me at a team that I’ve loved and worked for many, many years and then this year where he’s just been faultless throughout, I think it’s really, really great to see,” he said.

However Hamilton was scathing about his Ferrari teammate Leclerc, after he challenged the British driver on the opening lap, went off in doing so, took the place and left Hamilton vulnerable to being passed by Verstappen, who duly did so and took the win, costing Ferrari a potential one-two.

Hamilton insisted that it was time Ferrari, who have no formal rules of engagement between the two drivers, took action.

“The guy is 28 years old, so I don’t think it’s an age thing. I think it’s a mentality thing. It’s like, ‘do or die. Either I win or none of us do’ and it shouldn’t be that,” he said. “We have to work as a team, which we could have easily done today. So, it’s a shame to see us lose this, as we did. That will just continue unless action is taken, if a real deep, serious conversation is had. So, it shouldn’t happen moving forward.”

The Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur was also unimpressed, noting that he felt it showed a lack of respect for the team as a whole.

“I still don’t understand how we can lose this race,” he said. “I will have a discussion with my guys, but it’s very difficult in terms of respect for us, for the team, for the job done at home by the guys.”