Jimmy Carr surprises the audience with a cheeky Kimi Antonelli joke after his F1 world championship win.
Jimmy Carr surprised the audience with a cheeky joke about Kimi Antonelli, just a few days after the young driver won the F1 World Championship.
At 20 years and 68 days old, Antonelli became the youngest ever F1 champion after his big win at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday. He called the moment an emotional blur that he’ll “remember forever.” The Italian star made history by winning nine races and finishing on the podium 16 times, beating tough competitors like Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, and his teammate George Russell. While many have cheered his amazing success, some haven’t been as kind—comedian Jimmy Carr made a dark joke about Antonelli’s win during his latest stand-up show.
Carr, 54, said, “I don’t like it because he’s Italian and he won the F1 championship in a Mercedes. When Italians and Germans come together, bad things happen.” (Fair warning: the joke might offend some.)
After securing the championship with a third-place finish at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Antonelli is now getting ready for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix this weekend. He’s also done something special that’s earning him even more respect. The 20-year-old visited the grave of racing legend Ayrton Senna, a tradition he started last year as a tribute to his idol before the Brazil race. Senna, a three-time world champion, tragically died in a crash during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Interestingly, Senna passed away near Imola, which is close to Antonelli’s hometown in Italy.
To honor Senna, Antonelli plans to wear a special helmet design during the Brazil race. “I will have a special helmet for Brazil, for Ayrton,” he said.
After winning the title early with four races left, Antonelli earned the right to use the special number 1 on his car—a number reserved only for the reigning champion. Currently, Lando Norris races with number 1 after winning in 2025, following Max Verstappen’s three-year winning streak. But Antonelli has decided to keep his personal race number, 12, instead of switching to number 1.
“I think I’ll stick with number 12,” he explained. “It’s a special number to me and helps me stay grounded and humble. Keeping 12 gives me a fresh start to build on and improve. Also, I’m pretty superstitious, and number 1 has never been lucky for me—it’s always gone badly whenever I used it. So, that’s another reason to stay with 12.”
Because of his choice, the number 1 won’t be seen on the F1 grid in 2027. In fact, none of Mercedes’ champions since 2010 have used the number 1—Lewis Hamilton kept his famous number 44, and Nico Rosberg retired right after winning his title in 2016.