Portrait of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the new star of Mercedes

He may have been born in 2006, at a time when Iceman was setting the house on fire. Formula 1, do not see any link between Andrea's middle name Kimi Antonelli and a certain Kimi Raïkkönen. “My parents were looking for a middle name, and a family friend, shortly before I was born, found Kimi, it’s as simple as that. » So much for the beautiful story! “You can call me Kimi, Andrea or Andrea Kimi, the young boy tells us. My friends call me Kimi! » His other point in common with the Finnish legend from Ferrari ? His sensational debut in car ! A year after Ollie Bearman, Antonelli has indeed just achieved the feat of winning both the title in Italian F4 and in F4 ADAC, the German equivalent. A feat not to be underestimated, especially when we know that Germany should have been out of their reach this year. Initially, it was planned that he would only be entered for the entire championship in Italy, in the highest Formula 4 championship in the pyramid. However, Andrea Kimi performed so well in the first four German rounds that Prema, who was contractually not to take part in the last two meetings, decided to take part in the final round of the year at the Nürburgring. And this, in order to allow Andrea Kimi, still in the lead despite his absence at the Lausitzring, to go for the title. A brilliant result, which above all confirms its incredible capabilities demonstrated so far in karting. Coming from a family