Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Biography of F1 driver Kimi Antonelli

Starting out in Italian Formula 4 in 2021, Kimi Antonelli had a swift rise through the ranks of the junior categories and by 2024 was in FIA Formula 2. He made his grand prix weekend debut for Mercedes in FP1 for the Italian Grand Prix, but crashed minutes into the session at the Parabolica.

The next day, he was announced as Lewis Hamilton's replacement for 2025, where he claimed three podiums, finishing just six points behind Hamilton. 

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Karting & Mercedes Junior 

Kimi Antonelli started karting in 2014 and quickly became a dominant force in international competitions. He was signed to the Mercedes junior programme in 2018, the year he won four titles, and finishing second and third, respectively, in two others.

Transition to Single-Seaters 

By 2021, Antonelli moved to single-seater racing, debuting in Italian Formula 4, ending his nine-race spell with three podiums before unleashing a dominant 2022 season. 

He claimed 13 wins from his 20 starts as well as taking the ADAC Formula 4 title with nine wins and three seconds from 15 starts.

In 2023, he moved into the Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA), taking five wins and five seconds to secure the title in dominant fashion. This earned Antonelli a move straight into FIA Formula 2 with Prema for 2024, skipping over FIA Formula 3. 

Antonelli Moves from Formula 2 to Formula 1

Prema suffered an off-year with reliability in 2024 as Antonelli and Oliver Bearman struggled but he still claimed two victories in the Silverstone Sprint and Hungarian Feature races, before making his FP1 debut in F1 at Monza after extensive TPC testing with Mercedes.

The day after crashing in FP1, Antonelli was announced as Lewis Hamilton's replacement for 2025, becoming the first rookie to drive for Mercedes in F1 since the 1950s, and by the time he made his debut at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix, the third youngest driver in F1 history at 18 years, 6 months, and 19 days. 

Antonelli's debut season

Floor damage put Antonelli out early in qualifying on his debut, but in the tricky conditions at Albert Park, he took a stunning fourth place.

He strong start followed by becoming the youngest driver to lead a grand prix and also set the fastest lap at the 2025 Japanese GP, before storming to sprint pole at the Miami GP - making him the youngest pole-sitter in any format in F1 history. Sebastian Vettel retains the youngest grand prix pole-sitter accolade. 

A first podium followed with third place in Canada before Antonelli's season dipped through the European tour, ending with Toto Wolff branding his performance at Imola as "underwhelming."

However, a strong end to the season brought Antonelli two more podiums in Brazil, with second and third in Las Vegas. In the former, he battled with Max Verstappen wheel-to-wheel and then stormed from 17th to third in Vegas as his season ended with 150 points and seventh in the standings. 

History made with title glory in 2026

For 2026, Antonelli was retained by Mercedes and was once again partnered with George Russell as Mercedes emerged as title contenders once again.

Antonelli season was defined by consistency as much as outright speed. He rarely finished outside the podium places when victory was not on the cards.

His podium finish in Mexico, third behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, kept him clear at the top of the standings and allowed him to become the youngest champion in F1 history

Antonelli has consistently converted strong qualifying performances into points-maximising race results, building a lead over the chasing pack that neither Red Bull, Ferrari nor his own Mercedes teammate were able to close across the second half of the calendar.

The title is Antonelli's first world championship and comes in his second season in Formula 1.