The 19-year-old becomes the second youngest ever race winner after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the youngest pole sitter.
His early career and joining the Mercedes Junior Team
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is an Italian born driver and son to Marco Antonelli, a sportscar driver and owner of AKM Motorsport racing team. Kimi Antonelli started his racing career in 2014 at the age of seven in karting, much like other F1 legends like Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. He was scouted by Giovanni Minardi and signed to Minardi Management after attending a summer camp with the Automobile Club d’Italia in 2014.
He won the 2015 Trofeo Easykart Italia and went on to win the Easykart International Grand Final that same year from 22nd on the grid. He would go on to enter several other competitions in 2016 and 2017, seeing some top results in those as well. In 2018, Antonelli signed to the Mercedes Junior Team and went on a spree of wins and 2nd places in 2018 and 2019.
In 2020, at the age of 13, Antonelli progressed to the senior class, in which he continued to see major success. He finished third in the South Garda Winter Cup, second at the WSK Super Master Series, and won the European Championship on his senior class debut when he was 14.
He faced an injury in the final of the World Championship causing him to retire from the race, but he still was named the FIA Karting Rookie of the Year in 2020. In 2021, he moved to a different class and saw continued success once again.
F4 to F2
He made his debut in the “Formulas” in 2021, just weeks after turning 15. He debuted at the fifth round of the 2021 Italian F4 Championship for the team Prema. He finished as the highest place rookie and amassed four points across the weekend.
He scored points in the next round as well, but really broke out in the final round held at Monza. He finished the first race in second place, behind Oliver Bearman, and continued to score podiums in races two and three. He finished only tenth in the season, though that is pretty impressive given he missed most of the season.
For 2022, Antonelli was to participate in select rounds of the F4 UAE Championship with Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema, but when one of the drivers tested positive for COVID, Antonelli got the call up. He would go on to win all three of the races that weekend, but was demoted to third after a post race penalty, putting him in the lead of the championship.
He participated in two of five rounds and finished eighth in the standings. He also participated in the Italian F4 and ADAC Formula 4 Championship in 2022 and would win the championship in the latter series.
In 2023, Antonelli participated in Formula Regional and would go on to win the championship as well. The typical route after F4 is F3, F2, then F1, but Antonelli didn’t follow this track. After dominating in F4 and Formula Regional, Antonelli went straight to F2 with Prema in 2024 at the age of 17. He secured his maiden win and podium in the eighth round of the season. He would finish the season in sixth place with 113 points, two wins, and one other podium.
His F1 career so far
In April of 2024 he took part in his first testing session in the W12, before going on to complete more in the W13. After a rule change that allowed drivers to receive their FIA Super License at the age of 17, there were rumors that he would replace Logan Sargeant at Williams during the 2024 season, but he was instead replaced by Franco Colapinto.
He made his Free Practice debut at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, replacing his now teammate, George Russell for the session. He also took part in Free Practice One in Mexico City later that season after it was announced that he would be replacing Lewis Hamilton in 2025.
Antonelli made his debut at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix, becoming the third youngest F1 driver in F1 history at the age of 18 and 203 days. He qualified 16th and managed to climb to 4th, making him the second-youngest points scorer in F1 history.
At the Japanese Grand Prix he became the youngest driver to lead a race and to set a fastest lap. He got his first podium at the Canadian Grand Prix where he became the third-youngest podium finisher. He finished the season seventh in the WDC behind Lewis Hamilton.
In the first two races of the 2026 season, Mercedes has already shown their dominance, winning both races. Antonelli finished the season opener in second place behind his teammate. In China, Antonelli became the youngest ever pole sitter, surpassing Sebastian Vettel by almost two years and won the race, becoming the second youngest race winner after Max Verstappen.