It was 2021. The just fifteen-year-old Kimi Antonelli made his Formula 4 debut mid-season at the Red Bull Ring, and in his very first race, he immediately scored points. Ahead of him, a young Ollie Bearman won the race that would bring him closer to the title. Two weekends later, at Monza, Antonelli achieved his first podiums — in fact, three podiums across all races that weekend. Bad weather struck the Italian, and there, under the rain, the young driver showcased his talent in challenging conditions for the first time. He battled closely with Bearman, who ultimately prevailed thanks to perfect timing with the safety car in the final laps. Observers quickly realized that Antonelli had something truly special.
Dominance in junior formulas and rain as a trademark
2022 was the year of his full emergence. He began by winning the opening race of the Formula 4 Middle East Championship, then went on to dominate both the German and Italian F4 series in a way no one had before: 13 wins out of 20 in Italy, 9 out of 15 in Germany, beating drivers like Camara and Dunne. In October, he won the FIA Motorsport Games at Paul Ricard. A small anecdote: only hours later, he discovered he had competed and won with a fractured wrist.
2023 marked his Formula Regional year. In the Middle East, he once again dominated. Then he began the European championship. In the early races, he didn’t win but displayed remarkable consistency, keeping himself among the top contenders. In the fourth round at Spa, he secured his first championship victory, effectively signaling his intent for the title — naturally, in the rain. At what many call the F1 “university,” Kimi took his first exam.
The penultimate weekend took place in Zandvoort. Race 2 was wet. Starting fifth, Antonelli was leading after just two laps. His pace was simply embarrassing for the others: a staggering one-and-a-half seconds per lap faster than the rest of the field, clinching the FRECA championship with his trademark style. At the end of the race, he was interviewed and cried from emotion — images replayed last weekend in Shanghai — as if his destiny was already written.
Convincing Mercedes for his 2025 debut
If rain was his calling card, tire management was another defining trait. This skill would convince Mercedes to trust him, accelerating his path to Formula 1. In 2024, while competing in Formula 2 with a Prema car struggling with setup and engine performance, Toto Wolff’s team incorporated tests with previous-year Mercedes cars during race weekends. It was in a test in Belgium that the 2006-born driver made the decisive step. He himself stated that on that day he significantly improved his tire degradation management, predicting wear and convincing the team to hire him for the following year.
Gwen Lagrue, head of the Mercedes Academy, commented after numerous tests: “When we did the first single-seater test, the ease with which he adapted to practically every situation made me realize we were dealing with someone special.”
Formula 2: a challenging but exciting season
Mercedes decided at the end of 2023 that Kimi Antonelli would go straight to F2, stating, “We felt it wasn’t so educational to race in F3,” according to Lagrue. The 2024 F2 season alongside Ollie Bearman was challenging. The new car created difficulties for Prema, struggling with both setup and engine. Yet Antonelli patched things up, especially in qualifying, outperforming his teammate with ease and ending the season sixth in the standings, nearly 40 points ahead of Bearman. He scored two wins: first, the sprint race at Silverstone, dominated once again in wet conditions, setting the fastest lap over a second quicker than anyone else. Then, the feature race in Hungary, where his tire management skills shone, extending the first stint on hard tires compared to others, which proved decisive for the victory. His sprint race at Spa was also notable, stopped by a red flag while he was charging through the rain, almost into the podium positions, including a remarkable pass on Colapinto at Eau Rouge. The pattern was always clear.
First flashes in Formula 1
2025 marked his F1 debut. In Melbourne, starting 16th, he climbed to fourth place in a race run mostly on intermediates due to wet conditions. By the third race in Suzuka, the circus began to notice something special. Antonelli extended the first stint on medium tires by twelve laps more than George Russell, then switched to hard tires to chase his teammate, finishing just 1.5 seconds behind at the end. He also set the fastest lap, becoming the youngest ever to do so. In Miami, he secured his first sprint qualifying pole, showing particular confidence in single-lap pace compared to the Brit.
Mid-season struggles and revival
Then came the mid-season crisis. In 2025, Mercedes introduced a rear suspension update that unsettled Antonelli. The rear became unstable and nervous. Kimi’s aggressive driving style — turning in quickly and braking later than average — relies on a stable rear, the opposite of the update’s effect. His aggressive downshifting further highlighted the importance of rear confidence. As he explained in 2025: “My driving style is quite aggressive, and I think you saw it at times, even at Monza in FP2, in how I set up the car in corners.” His race engineer, Peter Bonnington, reminded him over team radio in Shanghai not to overdo quick steering inputs in corners.
His style is comparable to Hamilton’s, as he himself admitted, both having struggled with ground-effect cars. Antonelli found it hardest to find confidence and grip limits in qualifying, while races were easier: “With this generation of cars, I can’t be as aggressive on corner entry. Maybe due to aerodynamics and tires, these cars are very sensitive to wind. It’s a very delicate car. Right now, I don’t know exactly how much more the car can give. I know it can give a lot more, but I’m not sure exactly how much.”
Returning to 2025, Mercedes removed the suspension update in later races. Antonelli regained confidence, pushing to the limit without fear. After a disappointing Monza race, a meeting with Toto Wolff and Bono changed everything. Kimi reorganized his approach from the first practice sessions, providing personalized setup feedback to his engineers instead of copying his teammate. From Baku to Qatar, he was closer to his teammate, sometimes even outperforming him.
In Brazil, he scored his second podium, and in Las Vegas 2025, he demonstrated superior tire management again, particularly handling graining. He completed a second stint of 46 laps, keeping Piastri and Leclerc behind and gradually reducing the gap to Russell, who suffered from graining despite fresher tires, securing his third podium of the season.
2026: China confirms his rise — can he fight for the title?
The start of 2026 showed a more aware Antonelli, especially in race pace. Early races highlighted competitive stint management, particularly in the latter part of the race in both Australia and Shanghai. In China, he scored his first F1 victory with a controlled race, managing the initial phases with the Ferraris and setting the fastest lap. In the second stint, Antonelli was like a metronome until a minor error on the penultimate lap. This victory had a significant mental impact, easing the pressure he admitted he felt: “Beating George is very, very difficult. There will be a lot of work to get an opportunity, but in some ways, I think getting the first win will reduce the pressure.”
The favorite remains clearly George Russell, who excels in qualifying, where energy management and lap consistency are still areas for Antonelli to grow. In races, Antonelli has already shown he can be consistently competitive, thanks to excellent trust in the W17 and outstanding tire management that could challenge the Brit.
Even Peter Bonnington highlighted these qualities through data: “This ability really shows in the numbers. There are balance points on the track where you think, ‘I don’t know how he’s driving such a neutral car, keeping temperatures under control, and yet the car is ready to rotate on its axis.’ It’s a spectacle to watch. I’ve met Michael Schumacher, I’ve met Lewis Hamilton, and then you realize, no, there’s an extra step. That’s what Kimi has. That tenth or two more.”
With less pressure and greater awareness, Antonelli can now focus on consistency and refining the details that will make the difference over a season in which, as he himself stated, he is ready to “fight for the title.”
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