did you see it Kimi Antonelli trolls Kim Kardashian over his stolen towel

Kimi Antonelli won the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday. Apparently he also lost his towel.

The 19-year-old Mercedes driver turned pole position into a commanding victory in the streets of Monte Carlohis fifth win in a row in the 2026 Formula One season. This extended his lead in the championship to 66 points, a margin that no driver has held at this stage in the modern era without becoming world champion.

However, the towel went elsewhere.

In the footage, which quickly went viral on social media, Kim Kardashian was seen walking past the top three drivers’ cabin before picking up a neatly folded white towel placed near the number one podium marker, an item specially designed for Antonelli by team mechanics. She wiped her forehead and sunglasses with a towel before leaving. The clip has since been seen by millions.

The 19-year-old driver was part of a cheeky post on social media, launching a hunt for the towel that went missing after his win.

“Did you see my towel?” Kimi can be seen asking in a video shared by Mercedes.

Kardashian was in Monaco as a guest of her partner Lewis Hamilton, who was making his first appearance at a Formula 1 event. Hamilton finished second to move up to second in the championship as George Russell’s troubled afternoon, which ended with a penalty and a 12th-place finish, cost the Briton the standings.

Hamilton has been tight-lipped about Kardashian’s presence at the race.

“It’s amazing that she came this weekend and had the support,” he said at the post-race press conference.

“It’s amazing to have good people around you and good people to support you, and she does that for me every day.”

However, the towel incident overshadowed much of the weekend buzz surrounding her visit. F1 presenter Will Buxton was among those to mark what he described as a righteous moment.

“What kind of world do you live in, where do you go and assume someone put a towel there?” Buxton said on his podcast. “Maybe it could be for one of the drivers. It’s just a little thing, but this level of authority is unreal.”

There had already been a flashpoint when Sky Sports presenter Martin Brundle tried to speak to Kardashian during his traditional grid walk but was met with silence as he was escorted by her security detail.

For Antonelli, the off-track theatrics of the weekend did little to distract from a completely extraordinary start to his sophomore season. Since his first win at the Chinese Grand Prix in March, the Italian has been unstoppable, winning in Japan, Miami, Canada and now Monaco. At 19, he is on track to become the youngest world champion in history, a record that has stood since Sebastian Vettel won the title in 2010 at the age of 23.

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

June 11, 2026 1:23 PM IST