On November 1, 2026, Kimi Antonelli became the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history. The Italian from Bologna, picked by Mercedes as a 12-year-old and handed Lewis Hamilton’s seat at 18, sealed the title at the Mexico City Grand Prix aged 20 years and 68 days. It was only his second season in the sport.
| Full name | Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | August 25, 2006 |
| Age | 20 |
| Birthplace | Bologna, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Profession | Formula 1 driver |
| Team | Mercedes (since 2025) |
| Father | Marco Antonelli, sportscar racer and owner of AKM Motorsport |
| Major titles | Formula 1 World Champion (2026), Formula Regional European Champion (2023), Italian and ADAC F4 Champion (2022) |
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in), according to RacingNews365 |
Early Life
Andrea Kimi Antonelli was born on August 25, 2006, in Bologna, in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region. Motor racing was the family business. His father, Marco Antonelli, raced sportscars and runs AKM Motorsport, a team based in San Marino. His middle name famously matches the first name of 2007 world champion Kimi Räikkönen, although Antonelli has said he was not named after the Finn.
He started karting at the age of five, on a track in Forlì, and quickly stood out. Mercedes spotted him during his karting years and formally announced him as a member of its junior program in 2019, when he was just 12. Ferrari, by several accounts, also had the chance to sign him as a teenager but judged him too young, a decision former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has publicly said he regrets.
Away from the circuit, he studied at a technical school in Casalecchio di Reno, near Bologna, and was still completing his Italian high school diploma online during the first half of his rookie F1 season. He speaks Italian, English and German, and is a fan of his hometown clubs, Bologna FC in football and Virtus Bologna in basketball.
Career
Karting and junior single-seaters (2011-2023)
Antonelli’s karting record is the kind that gets a teenager noticed in the paddock. In 2020 and 2021 he won the senior OK European Championship, becoming the youngest senior European karting champion, and he also took the 2020 WSK Euro Series and the Italian title that year.
He moved to cars at 15 and simply kept winning. In 2022, driving for Prema, he claimed both the Italian F4 and German ADAC F4 championships. In 2023 he added the Formula Regional Middle East title with Mumbai Falcons and the Formula Regional European Championship with Prema. Two years, four titles.
The Formula 2 gamble (2024)
Mercedes then made a bold call: it skipped Formula 3 entirely and put Antonelli straight into Formula 2 for 2024, again with Prema. The jump was steep, but he adapted. He won a rain-soaked Sprint race at Silverstone and his first Feature race at the Hungaroring, finishing sixth in the standings. Shortly after his 18th birthday, Mercedes confirmed what many had expected: he would replace Lewis Hamilton, who was leaving for Ferrari, from 2025.
Rookie season with Mercedes (2025)
Antonelli made his Formula 1 debut at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix and finished fourth in a chaotic, rain-hit race, a remarkable start for an 18-year-old. Two months later he took the Sprint pole in Miami, and at the Canadian Grand Prix he scored his first podium with third place. Along the way he became the youngest driver to lead a lap and to set a fastest lap in F1. He ended his rookie year seventh in the championship with 150 points and three podiums, alongside team-mate George Russell.
Replacing a seven-time world champion is a heavy inheritance for any driver, let alone one who had only just turned 18. Antonelli’s rookie year had its ups and downs, but Mercedes never wavered. Wolff kept faith in a driver the team had been developing since childhood, and that patience would pay off spectacularly twelve months later.
The record-breaking 2026 season
The new technical rules of 2026 changed everything. Russell won the season opener in Australia, with Antonelli second, but then the Italian took over. At the Chinese Grand Prix he became the youngest polesitter in F1 history and converted it into his first win. Victory in Japan made him the youngest championship leader the sport has ever had, and wins in Miami, Canada and Monaco followed. That run of five straight victories from his maiden win was itself a record, and Monaco, where he led every lap from pole and set the fastest lap, made him the youngest driver to score a grand chelem.
The streak eventually came to an end, and there were difficult afternoons along the way, including a 15th-place finish. But Antonelli never lost control of the title race. According to Malay Mail, he arrived in Mexico City with nine wins from the season’s 18 races, the most recent coming from pole at the United States Grand Prix in Austin. Russell and Hamilton were both more than 120 points behind.
What’s New in 2026
Mexico City was always going to be the moment. Antonelli needed only to finish ninth, and despite a viral infection that kept him out of Thursday’s media session, he started fourth and ran a calm race to third place behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Before the weekend he had said he would love to clinch the title “in style with a great result.” He did exactly that.
The race itself was anything but quiet. Hamilton started from his first pole position with Ferrari, Charles Leclerc was penalized for cutting a corner on the opening lap, and a heavy crash for Valtteri Bottas, caused by a front-left suspension failure, brought out the red flag. Verstappen took advantage to win from fifth on the grid. Through all of it, Antonelli stayed out of trouble, which was all he needed to do. Team boss Toto Wolff, who had promoted him into Hamilton’s seat, had joked before the weekend that a title celebration would be “a tequila party,” according to Malay Mail.
With 380 points, he left Mexico 119 points clear of Verstappen with the season still running. At 20 years and 68 days, he breaks the record Sebastian Vettel set in 2010 by more than three years. He is also Italy’s first Formula 1 world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953, and the first Mercedes drivers’ champion since Hamilton in 2020. You can read the full race report in our news piece, Kimi Antonelli Becomes F1’s Youngest-Ever World Champion. That same weekend, another sporting debut was making headlines in the United States: Andreas Almgren won the New York City Marathon on his debut.
Next up is Brazil, where Mercedes can also wrap up the constructors’ championship, a title the team has not won since 2021.
Personal Life
Antonelli keeps his private life largely out of the spotlight. What he has made public revolves around family and home: he grew up surrounded by racing through his father’s team, remains close to Bologna and follows its football and basketball clubs. He has not shared details of a current relationship.
Inside Mercedes, his relationship with Russell has been closely watched all season. Russell summed it up before Mexico by saying the two were “essentially competing against ourselves,” a sign of how dominant the team had become.
Net Worth
Kimi Antonelli’s net worth is not publicly disclosed, and neither Mercedes nor the driver has revealed his salary. Figures circulating online are estimates without official confirmation, so we do not repeat them here. What is certain is that his contract value, prize earnings and sponsorship profile are all set to rise sharply as a reigning world champion.
FAQ
How old is Kimi Antonelli?
He was born on August 25, 2006, so he is 20 years old. He won the 2026 title aged 20 years and 68 days.
Is Kimi Antonelli the youngest F1 world champion?
Yes. He beat Sebastian Vettel’s record, set in 2010 at 23 years and 134 days.
Where is Kimi Antonelli from?
He is Italian, born in Bologna, in the Emilia-Romagna region.
Who is Kimi Antonelli’s father?
His father is Marco Antonelli, a former sportscar racer and owner of the AKM Motorsport team.
Was Kimi Antonelli named after Kimi Räikkönen?
No. His middle name matches Räikkönen’s first name, but Antonelli has said he was not named after him.
How many races has Kimi Antonelli won?
All nine of his Grand Prix victories before Mexico came in 2026, his title-winning season.
Sources
- Formula1.com, official Kimi Antonelli driver profile
- Wikipedia, “Kimi Antonelli”
- RacingNews365, Andrea Kimi Antonelli driver page
- Malay Mail, “Antonelli on brink of F1 history as youngest champion and Italy’s first in 73 years,” October 29, 2026
- 1News, “Antonelli on the brink of becoming F1’s youngest champion in Mexico,” October 31, 2026
- Sports Illustrated, “F1 Standings and Results as Kimi Antonelli Crowned Champion at Mexican Grand Prix,” November 1, 2026