Andrea Kimi Antonelli

1. Who is Andrea Kimi Antonelli?

Andrea Kimi Antonelli is an Italian driver, born on August 25, 2006 in Bologna. He is racing in Formula 1 at Mercedes for the 2025 season after being part of the Mercedes Junior Team.

Antonelli Mercedes 2024 post season

Antonelli during the 2024 post-season tests with Mercedes © FLORENT GOODEN / DPPI Media

2. Andrea Kimi Antonelli's junior career

Andrea Kimi Antonelli made his single-seater debut in 2021, a few weeks after his fifteenth birthday, at the sixth round of the Italian Formula 4 Championship with Prema at the Red Bull Ring. In his first race, he finished ninth and scored two points. The Italian only took part in three of the seven weekends of the competition at the end of the season in order to accumulate track time before starting a full season in 2022. To continue his preparation, the Bolognese took part in a few rounds of the 4 UAE Formula 2022 Championship. The young driver will be back for the 2022 Italian Formula 4 season with Prema alongside Charlie Wurz, Conrad Laursen, Rafael Camâra and James Wharton.

After a disappointing first weekend at Imola, the Bologna native continued to win three times, punctuated by second places. The driver only missed the podium five times in the 22 races of the season. His 13 first places and 362 points allowed him to win the title in his native country with a 104-point lead over Alex Dunne, who occupies second place in the competition. Alongside the Italian programme, Antonelli also competed in the German Formula 4 championship (which no longer exists) and became the second driver to win both trophies after Oliver Bearman in 2021.

Andre Kimi Antonelli winning the 4 Italian F2022 Championship title © Prema

Thanks to this double coronation, he was promoted to Formula 3 in the Formula Regional category for 2023. In order to get in shape for the European event, the Italian participated in the Middle East Championship with Prema, in winter, and won the title against Taylor Barnard in the last round on the Yas Marina circuit. He then competed in FRECA (Formula Regional European Championship). After eleven podiums, including five victories, the young driver won the title and dedicated it to Dilano van't Hoff who lost his life during the second race of the Belgian round at Spa-Francorchamps.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli FRECA 2023 Champion Zandvoort

FRECA champion in 2023 © Sebastiaan Rozendaal / Dutch Photo Agency.

Without going through the FIA ​​Formula 3 box, the Mercedes Junior Team protégé arrives in Formula 2, still at Prema, with Oliver Bearman as teammate. The start of the 2024 season is complicated for the Italian team which struggles to adapt to the new aerodynamic regulations concerning ground effect. "Kimi" wins his first victory in this category in the eighth round, helped by a particularly wet weekend at Silverstone. He finishes sixth in the drivers' standings with 113 points, ahead of Victor Martins by 6 points.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Antonelli in Formula 2 with Prema in 2024 © Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

3. Andrea Kimi Antonelli's Grand Prix (F1) career

Five years after joining the Mercedes academy, Antonelli took his first laps in a Formula 1 car in the 12 W2021 during a test with Mercedes at the Red Bull Ring at the age of just 17. Two weeks later, he took part in further tests at the Imola circuit in Italy with the W13 accompanying him for some 500 kilometres, followed by further private tests at Silverstone and Spa.

The youngster, who has just come of age, takes part in his first free practice session at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix at Monza in George Russell's W15. Antonelli surprises by setting the fastest time before spinning on the "Curva Alboreto" and suffering a 52G crash. His second free practice session at the Mexico Grand Prix ends prematurely once again after debris damages his floor. Before joining George Russell at Mercedes in 2025, Antonelli completed 62 laps in Lewis Hamilton's single-seater at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi.

Monza Antonelli 2024 Mercedes

Antonelli during Free Practice for the 2024 Italian Grand Prix © Eric Alonso / DPPI Media

4. AutoHebdo's opinion on Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Andrea Kimi Antonelli has an impressive track record at just 18 years old, with only three campaigns in the promotion formula and four titles won in his first two years. His time in Formula 2 was not as successful, however, as he finished sixth. However, this season is much less bad than it seems given his inexperience. Despite his age, he shows great maturity: he is capable of being as fast as he is consistent. He is a driver who has everything to prove… but who has little to lose.

They talk about him

Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Age Aug 25, 2006 (18 year)

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