Kimi Antonelli: Why this Mercedes Junior is being touted as a future F1 champion
26 April 2024To become a rising star in modern single-seater feeder categories may sound like a big ask, but in reality, its even more challenging than that. For the last two years, the reigning Formula 2 champions have been without a race seat in F1, and pit walls up and down the paddock are filling up at a rapid rate.
In such a world, it takes something special, the likes of which are seldom seen to truly stand out. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are recent examples of this, having made a name for themselves as future world champions before they’d even reached the final rung on the ladder towards F1.
Now though, there’s a new driver who has made a similarly significant splash in junior open-wheel racing. His name? Andrea Kimi Antonelli, or Kimi Antonelli as he is commonly known.
As the news broke about Lewis Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes at the end of 2024, Antonelli was already being touted as his replacement before he’d even turned a wheel in anger in the Formula 2 championship.
What then, is the cause for this young Italian to be held in such high esteem? Well, to date, his scorecard is one glistening with achievement. He has multiple titles to his name in the past two seasons and myriad prestigious karting championships in the years prior.
Karting
As the default starting point for any modern-day F1 hopeful, it comes as no surprise that Antonelli first sat in a go-kart at the tender age of seven, before making his mark on the European and International karting circuit.
From 2014 to 2017, Kimi secured landmark results in noteworthy Italian series such as the Trofeo Easykart Italia and international WSK events. The 2018 and 2019 seasons were when he really hit his stride, though.
Titles in the WSK Champions Cup, South Garda Winter Cup and the ROK Cup International Final were accompanied by third in the WSK Super Master Series and second in the Italian 60 Mini Championship, completing a breakthrough year for Antonelli. But still, the best was yet to come.
In 2019, Kimi would claim six titles and finish on the podium in a further three championships. To top it off, he finished fifth in the CIK-FIA World Championship. Such an all-conquering season was enough to attract the attention of Mercedes Team Principal and CEO, Toto Wolff, who duly inducted him into the Mercedes Junior Academy.
Toto’s trust in the Italian youngster was rewarded in the following seasons. Now, with F1 team backing, Antonelli went on to win back-to-back CIK-FIA European Championships in 2020 and 2021 as well as the WSK Euro Series in 2020. With little left to achieve in karting and with the might of Mercedes now behind him, it was time to make the step into single seaters.
Formula 4
The 2021 season was one in which Kimi tested the waters of F4 to immediate success. From just nine guest rounds in Italian F4, he scored three podiums and finished 10th in the championship.
As if further confirmation of his talent was needed at this point, his first full campaign in F4 played an important part in the reputation that now precedes him. Three titles awaited Kimi at the end of the season; cause enough for celebration, but the domination with which he secured those championships is what sets his 2022 season apart.
From a possible 36 races across the Italian F4 Championship, the ADAC Formula 4 Championship and the FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 Cup, Antonelli won a remarkable 20 of them, standing on the podium a total of 28 times.
With such an impressive run of form under his belt in a rookie season, it was time for another step up, this time into the Formula Regional category.
Formula Regional
The Formula Regional championships utilise F3 machinery, meaning it was a natural rate of progression for Antonelli in the 2023 season. What followed was similar levels of domination he’d enjoyed in F4, but on a much bigger stage.
Competing across both the Formula Regional Middle East Championship and the Formula Regional European Championship, Kimi garnered a further eight race victories and 18 podiums en route to both titles.
Despite his meteoric rise and extraordinary levels of dominance, it was widely expected that Kimi would contest Formula 3 in 2024 – the traditional next step on the feeder series ladder. But this is no ordinary driver and so, it was announced that he’d be racing in Formula 2 for 2024.
Formula 2 so far
As was to be expected, Kimi experienced the steepest of learning curves in Formula 2 and with a new generation of car for the team to understand, it has been a steady start to the season.
His results have improved race after race, though. A pair of sixth place finishes in Jeddah highlighted the progress made following a frustrating first event. Then came the weekend of the Australian Grand Prix, and his most promising F2 performances to date.
Although that weekend’s Sprint Race ended on the sidelines for Antonelli, prior to his Turn 12 spin he was in the midst of a fierce battle for second having started ninth. Then came the feature race, in which he took the lead from Dennis Hauger on the first lap. Despite being relegated to third in the opening stint, and a poorly timed Safety Car pushing him further down the order, he made his way back through the pack, eventually finishing fourth to claim his best result in F2 so far.
Mercedes or Williams?
Toto Wolff has stated he’s deliberately avoiding putting too much pressure at Antonelli’s door, as rumours around the 2025 F1 driver market swirl in the wake of Hamilton’s departure. But if he were to get the call, would the 17-year-old protégé be ready to step into one of the most valued seats on the grid?
Should Wolff opt for a more proven pair of hands like Carlos Sainz for 2025, another option could present itself to Kimi in the form of Williams. Although this alternative presents its own issues, with Team Principal James Vowles looking to promote from within Williams’ own academy programme.
Regardless of where Antonelli ends up in 2025, it seems he is destined for a place in the F1 paddock, but the looming question of if he can replicate past successes in the world’s most competitive motorsport championship is still to be answered.
