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Kimi Antonelli: Everything You Need To Know

Kimi Antonelli’s connection to motorsport runs deep. It is in his name, and his blood.

Born in Bologna and made at Mercedes. Let us bring you up to speed and say a big ‘Buongiorno!’ to F1’s newest recruit.

Who is Kimi Antonelli?

Kimi was born on 25 August, 2006. His dad, Marco, is a former racing driver and runs his own motorsport team ‘Antonelli Motorsport.’

The first Formula One race to take place after the 18-year-old’s birth was the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, won by Felipe Massa.

Fernando Alonso - who will be on the grid with Kimi in 2025 - finished P2 that weekend.

Is Kimi Named After Kimi Raikkonen?

No. Kimi is actually the 18-year-old's middle name by birth. His full name is Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

A friend of the Antonelli family gave the Italian the name Kimi because it fitted well with his other names - as he explains here.

Kimi began karting at the age of seven, racing for his dad’s team. His first kart title came in 2015, in the Trofeo Easykart and Kart Grand Prix EasyKart 60 category.

When Did Kimi Join Mercedes?

Kimi joined our Junior Programme in 2019, after claiming numerous titles and wins in the junior karting categories.

His single seater debut came in 2021, competing in the Italian F4 and Formula 4 UAE Championship Trophy Round.

Kimi Joins Our F1 Line Up For 2025

What Has Kimi Achieved So Far?

A first win out of karting came in a Formula 4 UAE Championship race at Abu Dhabi in January 2022.

In the same season, he would go on to claim the Italian F4 and ADAC Formula 4 titles. In total across the two series, he won 22 races from 35 starts.

A step up to Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) followed in 2023. Five wins, and six further podiums later, Kimi clinched the title at the penultimate round at Zandvoort.

At the start of 2023, he also won the Formula Regional Middle East Championship with three wins and four podiums from 15 races.

Four titles in two seasons. Not bad, eh?

Kimi moved into Formula 2 with PREMA for 2024 and won his first race at Silverstone in the Sprint Race. He won his second race in Hungary two weeks later, becoming the youngest multiple winner in series history.

What Number Will Kimi Run in F1?

Well, that is still to be decided.

Kimi won the FRECA title in 2023 driving with the number 12, the same number he ran while testing for the team earlier this year and during his first FP1 session at Monza on Friday.

He currently drives the number 4 car for PREMA in Formula 2.

If 12 is not available for 2025, he might consider the number 7. A Kimi driving with the number 7? Now that would be a throwback...

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Age Is Just a Number

Kimi will become the third youngest driver to start a Formula One Grand Prix when he lines up in Melbourne next March, at 18 years, six months, and 20 days old.

Only Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll would have been younger on their F1 debuts.

Forza Italia!

Kimi will become the 85th driver from Italy to start an F1 Grand Prix in Australia in 2025, and the first since Antonio Giovinazzi at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

In Kimi’s lifetime, only five Italian drivers have taken part in an F1 race: Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Luca Badoer, and Giovinazzi.

Joining the Silver Arrows’ Honour Roll

Kimi will become the 13th Mercedes F1 Grand Prix driver next season, and the second to come through our Junior Programme after future team-mate George Russell.

He will follow in the footsteps of Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Andre Simon, Hermann Lang, Piero Taruffi, Karl Kling, Hans Herrmann, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, and George.

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