Kimi Antonelli:

Everything You Need to Know

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 is 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.

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.

Kimi became the 13th driver to represent Mercedes in F1 when he took the start for his debut race in Melbourne, Australia. In the process he became the third-youngest driver to ever start an F1 race.

By finishing P4 at Albert Park after a stunning drive through the field to P16, Kimi became the second-youngest driver to score an F1 point.

He went on to score points in his first three Grands Prix, becoming just the third driver since 1965 to do so. In Japan, he became the youngest driver in F1 history to lead a lap, and set a fastest lap.

In Miami, Kimi became the youngest driver to record an F1 pole position of any kind when he claimed P1 for the Sprint Race.

A few races later in Canada, he became the third-youngest driver in history to stand on an F1 podium by finishing P3 in Montreal.

What Number Does Kimi Run in F1?

Kimi has chosen 12 as his official Formula 1 Grand Prix race number for 2025 and beyond.

Kimi won the FRECA title in 2023 driving with the number 12, and ran the same number while testing for the team last year and during his two FP1 sessions at Monza and Mexico in 2024.

Since the introduction of personalised driver numbers at the start of 2014, the number 12 has appeared in two seasons, with Brazilian Felipe Nasr in 2015 and 2016 while driving for Sauber.

Age Is Just a Number

Kimi became the third youngest driver to start a Formula One Grand Prix when he lined up in Melbourne in March.

Only Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll were younger on their F1 debuts.

Forza Italia!

Kimi became the 85^th driver from Italy to start an F1 Grand Prix in Australia, 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 became the 13^th Mercedes F1 Grand Prix driver next season, and the second to come through our Junior Programme after future team-mate George Russell.

He follows 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.