Who is Kimi Antonelli? Why 18-year-old is taking Lewis Hamilton's F1 seat

Antonelli has already completed some pre-season testing with Prema in which he impressed even further — besting fellow drivers by whole seconds in pouring rain as they all used F3 machinery.

He then had the chance to show what he can do in an F1 car, replacing George Russell for the 2024 Italian GP FP1.

“It’s going to be a really emotional moment,” said Wolff. “We’ve followed him since he was 11 and a baby go-kart driver.

“To see him drive out on Friday in FP1, in Monza, in front of the tifosi, having an Italian kid in a competitive car…. I think that will be something that everybody in Italy can be very proud of.”

Here’s the story of Antonelli’s meteoric rise so far.

Karting 

Antonelli’s racing career began on the same path as many. Aged seven, he got behind the wheel of a go-kart for the first time. Two years later in 2015, he marked himself apart by winning the EasyKart International Grand Final despite having qualified on the eleventh row of the grid with more than 20 racers in front of him.

In the seasons that followed, the Italian continued his development in the WSK — a renowned karting series in Europe which proved integral in the careers of Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant. In 2018 he won the finale of the WSK Champions Cup 60 Mini and also took overall victory in the ROK Cup International Final.

In 2019, Antonelli would arguably have his best year in a go-kart as he won the WSK Super Master Series and the WSK Euro Series while also placing fifth in his first trip to the FIA World Championships. Further podium finishes in the FIA European Championship and the Italian Championship as well as back-to-back victories in the WSK Open Cup and WSK Final Cup were ultimately enough to convince Toto Wolff of his talent, and Antonelli was signed to the Mercedes Junior Academy – proving eventually to be a very wise move.

Now with the backing of a F1 constructor, Antonelli’s development took another step forward in 2020 and his final year in karts was marked mainly by success, with wins in the WSK Euro Series and the FIA European Championship.

Watch Antonelli’s first karting win here

Formula 4 

Antonelli made his first leap into single-seaters in 2021, racing in selected events in both the Italian Formula 4 Championship and the Formula 4 UAE Championship.

In the former, the Italian made nine race starts, stood on the podium three consecutive times at Monza and ultimately finished 10th in the drivers’ standings – while future Prema team-mate Bearman took overall honours. In the latter, Antonelli found even more success, winning two races and scoring a further five podium finishes.

The following year, Antonelli would return to the Italian F4 championship to truly mark himself as a future F1 prospect, winning 13 races in total while also capturing pole position and the fastest lap in all but six rounds out of 20. The 15-year-old simultaneously competed in the ADAC F4 Championship, which he similarly dominated – winning the title courtesy of nine race victories, 12 podium finishes and seven pole positions.

His most eye-catching performance of the year arguably came at Yas Marina, where he saw off team-mate Aiden Neate by just 0.003sec to take the chequered flag – although the youngsters got so caught up in the moment that they both continued to race for a whole lap after the chequered flag was waved, with Ferrari junior James Wharton in tow.

Formula Regional

Although Antonelli’s racing resume is certainly impressive, it’s his most recent performances with Prema in the Formula Regional series which have put him firmly on the radar. Both series use F3-based cars and Antonelli thrived with the extra power and driving complexity.

In 2023, he ran in both the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine and in the Middle East Championship too. On many circuits used by Formula 1 – including Imola, the Hungaroring, Spa-Francorchamps, Paul Ricard, Monza, Zandvoort and Yas Marina – Antonelli was dominant and consistent, resulting in eight victories and 18 podium finishes overall across the two series, winning both titles.

Continuing his astronomical rise, Antonelli was promoted to F2 for 2024 where he continues to race with Prema.

F2 

Antonelli’s first season in F2 has been a slow burner.

The Italian scored just a single point across two races on debut in Bahrain and Prema’s continued struggle for performance has rather limited his potential to challenge for the title. However, from there his results took an upturn – with rumours of an imminent promotion to F1 for next year increasing, Antonelli has obviously done enough so far to impress.

Following on from his first sprint race win at Silverstone, his first feature race win in Hungary could turn out to be crucial in his future career prospects as he qualified seventh and climbed through the field to take a dominant victory – over 13 seconds clear of the next-nearest competitor.

Now however, regardless of how he finishes this year in F2, he’ll be making the step up to grand prix racing next year.

Kimi Antonelli’s career so far