Marco Bezzecchi reveals “amazing support” from F1’s newest winner

MotoGP championship leader Marco Bezzecchi says he got “amazing support” from Formula 1 race winner Andrea Kimi Antonelli ahead of US Grand Prix victory.

Italy is enjoying a purple patch in motorsport at the start of the 2026 season, with Marco Bezzecchi dominating the first three grands prix in MotoGP for Aprilia.

That continued last weekend at the US Grand Prix, with Bezzecchi setting a new record for the most consecutive laps led and extending his winning streak to five, following back-to-back victories at the end of 2025.

Bezzecchi’s success has come alongside Mercedes youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli taking his first F1 victory two weeks ago in China, before claiming a second last weekend in Japan.

It marks the first time since the start of the 2005 season that Italians have topped both the F1 and MotoGP standings.

Tennis superstar Jannik Sinner also signed a message to Bezzecchi and Antonelli following a match on Sunday.

“Kimi and I spoke this morning; as soon as I woke up, I sent him a message right away,” Bezzecchi told the Italian media, as reported by GPOne on Sunday after his win.

“Jannik was a surprise. I’m a fan of his, and he reached out to me after the race in Brazil.

“It was an incredible thrill to chat with him, even if only over the phone; I hope we can meet soon. I’ve had amazing support from these two proud Italians.”

Bezzecchi has now led for 121 consecutive grand prix laps on the Aprilia and is the first rider since Marc Marquez in 2014 to sweep the opening three rounds of a campaign.

This came after a crash while running in podium contention in the sprint on Saturday at COTA.

“To be honest, I didn’t really expect a day like this at all,” he said.

“After what happened yesterday, it wasn’t easy to stay focused. It was a small mistake that had big consequences.

“I was sad, pretty down, because I’d made a huge mistake. Fortunately, the whole team was there for me, giving me the boost I needed to keep pushing and working.

“We stayed in the garage until late at night to improve the bike; I didn’t expect a day like this, but I’m absolutely thrilled.

“I’ve been dreaming for a long time of having a race like this on a track that I really liked, but where I’d made a huge mistake.

“Fortunately, the whole team was there for me, giving me the boost I needed to keep pushing and working.

“We stayed in the garage until late at night to improve the bike; I didn’t expect a day like this, but I’m absolutely thrilled.

“I’ve been dreaming for a long time of having a race like this on a track that I really liked.”