F1 star Kimi Antonelli banned from winner's champagne after Japanese Grand Prix triumph

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Australia, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 star Kimi Antonelli in champagne ban after Japanese Grand Prix triumph

Not for you, young man!

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Sunday 29 March 2026 14:54

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Kimi Antonelli might have won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, but he was denied the opportunity to join Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc in spraying champagne around the podium the way he did just two weeks ago in Shanghai.

These are the types of burdens you have to carry as the youngest ever F1 championship leader.

What's all this about then? As you probably guessed, unlike in Australia and China, Antonelli isn't old enough to drink in Japan, and won't be for another five months (by which point he will no longer be in Japan, because he doesn't live there and he has other things to do).

Article continues under video

The legal drinking age in Japan is 20 years old, despite the age of adulthood being lowered to 18 as recently as 2022.

F1 HEADLINES: Antonelli makes history, F1 star given medical update after huge crash

Crofty: Accidental damage doesn't count!

As spotted by the Sky Sports crew, Antonelli was spraying around an unlabelled bottle presumably filled with sparkling rose water or similar, as used on F1 podiums in countries with alcohol prohibitions.

Leclerc and Piastri, though, got the standard Moet & Chandon jeroboams and were more than happy to direct them in the teenager's general direction – proving once and for all the GPFans stance that while second hand smoke is a bad thing and should be kept away from children, second hand alcohol is absolutely fine and parents should never worry about drinking around their children. [Editor's note: this is NOT the stance of GPFans, official or otherwise]

As Sky's David Croft said on the post-race broadcast: "Only thing wrong with being a teenager and winning here is you are not old enough to drink the champagne at the end."

He added: “Yeah, look at the bottle, no label. Legal drinking age is 20 [in Japan].”

Jenson Button, alongside him on the mic, piped up: "I have a question. The other two do have champagne, they spray it right?"

The verdict? "Accidental damage doesn't count!"

F1 Mercedes Kimi Antonelli Japanese Grand Prix