Kimi Antonelli

Early Life & Background

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was born on 25 August 2006 in Bologna, Italy, the son of former racing driver Marco Antonelli, who founded and runs the AKM Motorsport team. Motorsport ran in the family, though the elder Antonelli was initially wary of pushing his son toward a sport he knew could be as brutal as it was rewarding. That reluctance did not last long. Kimi began karting at seven, and it quickly became clear his talent outpaced his years. Racing under his father's team colors, he climbed through the karting ranks, catching the eye of Giovanni Minardi, who signed him to his management stable and helped chart a path toward single-seater racing. By 2019, Mercedes had seen enough, bringing him into its Junior Programme that April alongside graduates like George Russell and Esteban Ocon.

Rise Through The Junior Ranks

Antonelli's step into single-seaters came in 2021, when he made his Italian Formula 4 debut with Prema Racing at just 15, finishing on the podium despite missing much of the season. The following year brought a breakthrough: he won 13 Italian F4 races, a series record, and claimed both the Italian and ADAC Formula 4 titles in the same season. Rather than pausing to consolidate, Antonelli pushed forward into 2023, sweeping the Formula Regional Middle East Championship with three wins and four podiums, then following it with the Formula Regional European Championship title, sealed with five wins at the penultimate round in Zandvoort. Two regional titles and an F4 double in consecutive seasons gave Mercedes little reason to slow his progress. The team elected to skip him past FIA Formula 3 altogether, sending him straight into Formula 2 for 2024, a decision that reflected how highly the junior programme rated him relative to his peers.

Formula 2 Breakthrough

Racing for Prema in Formula 2, Antonelli faced a steeper climb than his junior record suggested he would. The 2024 season was uneven for the team, and his opening rounds were a struggle by his own standards, with qualifying pace lagging behind race performance. Still, the wins came. He took victory in the Silverstone Sprint Race in July, following it two weeks later with a feature race win in Hungary that made him the youngest multiple race winner in Formula 2 history. Alongside those results, Mercedes tested him more directly in machinery closer to Formula 1, running him through extensive TPC testing sessions before handing him his first Grand Prix weekend outing.

Formula 1 Debut & Mercedes Seat

The turning point arrived at Monza in 2024. Antonelli drove FP1 for Mercedes at the Italian Grand Prix, and the day after a crash in that session, the team confirmed what had been rumored for months: he would replace Lewis Hamilton for 2025, becoming the first rookie to drive for Mercedes in Formula 1 since the 1950s. He lined up for his debut at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix at 18 years, six months and 19 days old, the third youngest driver in the sport's history to start a race. Floor damage cost him track time in qualifying, but on a chaotic, rain-affected Sunday at Albert Park, Antonelli fought through to finish fourth. It was an opening statement suggesting his junior-category dominance would translate. By round ten of his rookie season, a podium at the Canadian Grand Prix confirmed it, making him the third youngest driver in Formula 1 history to stand on the rostrum.

Early Achievements & Outlook

Antonelli closed his rookie 2025 campaign seventh in the standings with 150 points and three podiums, a return Mercedes treated as a platform rather than a ceiling. That assessment has held up in 2026. Racing alongside George Russell, Antonelli has won six Grands Prix this season, in China, Japan, Miami, Canada, Monaco and Belgium, five of them converted directly from pole position. His win in China made him the youngest polesitter in Formula 1 history at that venue, and his win in Japan made him the youngest driver ever to lead the World Drivers' Championship. Through the season's first twelve rounds, Antonelli holds the championship lead, with Mercedes also topping the Constructors' standings, a position few drivers reach this early in their careers, built on the same combination of raw pace and rapid development that carried him from a kart in Bologna to the top of a Formula 1 grid still working out how to race him.

FAQs About Kimi Antonelli

A: Kimi Antonelli was born on August 25, 2006, making him 19 years old as of mid-2026. He is one of the youngest drivers on the current Formula 1 grid.

A: Andrea Kimi Antonelli was born on August 25, 2006, in Bologna, Italy. His full name is Andrea Kimi Antonelli, though he races under his middle name, Kimi.

A: Kimi Antonelli is from Bologna, Italy. He was born and raised there before moving through the international karting and junior single-seater circuits as his racing career progressed.

A: Kimi Antonelli stands at approximately 172cm (5 feet 8 inches). This figure comes from published driver profile listings rather than an official Mercedes team measurement.

A: Antonelli has been trending due to his rapid rise at Mercedes, including becoming the youngest pole-sitter and youngest championship leader in Formula 1 history during the 2026 season. His breakout performances, including multiple Grand Prix wins, have kept him in the headlines.

A: No, as of the most recent reporting, Kimi Antonelli is not in a relationship. He was previously linked to Czech karting racer Eliska Babickova, but the couple's split was announced publicly shortly before the 2026 F1 season began.

A: No official confirmation is available for this information. Kimi Antonelli's former girlfriend, Eliska Babickova, has been reported in entertainment coverage as being around 20 years old, but this figure is not confirmed through an official source.

A: Kimi Antonelli races with car number 12 in Formula 1. He has said he chose the number in tribute to his childhood idol, Ayrton Senna, who famously used it during part of his career.

A: Antonelli made his Formula 1 race debut at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix at 18 years, six months, and 19 days old, making him the third-youngest driver in the sport's history to start a Grand Prix.

A: Kimi Antonelli drives for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. He joined the team's race lineup for the 2025 season, partnering George Russell.

A: Antonelli progressed through Mercedes' Junior Team, which he joined in April 2019, before winning titles in Formula 4 and Formula Regional and racing in Formula 2 with Prema. Strong FP1 outings and private testing with Mercedes led to his promotion as Lewis Hamilton's replacement for the 2025 season.

A: Kimi Antonelli drives for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, competing alongside teammate George Russell.

A: No official confirmation is available for this information. Mercedes has not publicly disclosed Antonelli's salary; unofficial estimates in sports media have placed his annual pay in the low millions of dollars.

A: No official confirmation is available for this information. As with most F1 driver contracts, Mercedes has not released exact salary figures for Antonelli, and published estimates come only from unofficial sources.