Kimi Antonelli

Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Italian pronunciation: [anˈdrɛːa ˈkiːmi antoˈnɛlli]; born 25 August 2006) is an Italian racing driver who competes in Formula One for Mercedes.

Born and raised in Bologna, Antonelli is the son of sportscar racing driver Marco Antonelli. After a successful karting career—culminating in back-to-back victories at the senior European Championship in 2020 and 2021—Antonelli graduated to junior formulae. He won his first titles in Italian and ADAC F4 in 2022 with Prema; in addition to becoming a race-winner in Italian GT3, he also won a gold medal for Italy at the FIA Motorsport Games. He then claimed both the Formula Regional European and Middle East Championships before progressing to FIA Formula 2 in 2024, winning two races as he finished sixth.

A member of the Mercedes Junior Team since 2019, Antonelli signed for Mercedes in 2025, replacing Lewis Hamilton to partner George Russell and becoming the third-youngest driver in Formula One history at the Australian Grand Prix, aged 18; he achieved his maiden podium finish in his rookie season at the Canadian Grand Prix and became the youngest driver to set a fastest lap. He became the youngest-ever polesitter at the Chinese Grand Prix in 2026. Antonelli is contracted to remain at Mercedes until at least the end of the 2026 season.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was born on 25 August 2006 in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. His father, Marco Antonelli, is a sportscar racing driver and owner of the San Marino–based AKM Motorsport racing team, who have competed in the Italian F4 Championship since 2022. He founded Antonelli Motorsport in 1993, who competed in several GT series, winning the 2018 Italian GT Championship. His mother, Veronica Antonelli, is a former employee of Poste Italiane and has worked in motorsport since 1997, helping Marco operate AKM. He has a younger sister named Maggie.

Antonelli shares his middle name with the forename of Kimi Räikkönen—the 2007 Formula One World Drivers' Champion; Antonelli has stated that the name was given by Enrico Bertaggia to his father, who wanted his son to have a foreign name after "Andrea", and that he was not named after Räikkönen. He attended ITCS Gaetano Salvemini in Casalecchio di Reno, studying international relations and marketing, and learned to speak English during his race weekends. His father initially wanted him to play association football in Italy before entering him into karting, as he showed more passion for motorsport.

Antonelli started kart racing at the age of seven and won championships in several categories of the discipline. After attending a summer camp with the Automobile Club d'Italia in 2014, Antonelli was scouted by Giovanni Minardi—the son of Giancarlo—who signed him to Minardi Management. He won the 2015 Trofeo Easykart Italia in the 60 cc class, progressing to win the Easykart International Grand Final that year from twenty-second on the grid; he also placed thirty-first in the WSK Final Cup in 60 Mini. Antonelli entered several major competitions in 2016, achieving top-three finishes in the Italian Cup and Trofeo delle Industrie, as well as the WSK Super Master Series in 2017. He won the third round of the Italian Championship that year at Battipaglia.

Signing to the Mercedes Junior Team in 2018, Antonelli won the WSK Champions Cup, South Garda Winter Cup, and ROK Cup International Final in the Mini class that year, as well as finishing runner-up in the Italian Championship. Antonelli progressed to OK-Junior—the premier under-15 international direct-drive karting category—in 2019, winning the South Garda Winter Cup, WSK Super Master Series, WSK Euro Series, WSK Open Cup, and WSK Final Cup, all with Rosberg Racing Academy. He entered his first European and World Championships that year, finishing runner-up to Marcus Amand at the former and fifth at the latter.

In 2020, Antonelli progressed to the senior direct-drive OK class, aged 13. Amongst finishing third at the South Garda Winter Cup and runner-up to Nikita Bedrin at the WSK Super Master Series, he won the European Championship on his senior class debut aged 14, as well as the WSK Euro Series and Italian Championship, all with Kart Republic. Antonelli retired from the final of the World Championship at Portimão with an injury; he collided with the stationary kart of Maya Weug in wet-weather conditions, suffering a broken left tibia and metatarsus. For his efforts in 2020, Antonelli was named the FIA Karting Rookie of the Year by the CIK-FIA.