Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s former karting mechanic, Giulio Quaglia Faccio, has revealed that he had never encountered a driver with such extraordinary talent in almost 30 years of working in motorsport. Now that the Mercedes youngster has become Formula 1 world champion, the mechanic has recalled the remarkable speed with which Antonelli learned new circuits, his exceptional consistency behind the wheel and the childhood moments when he would burst into tears after being told off.
Whenever Antonelli won a karting race, he would run beneath the team’s awning and jump into the mechanics’ arms. They would embrace, take photographs and then return to packing away their equipment. The young driver would head home with his family while the mechanics continued working. Quaglia Faccio, who prepared Antonelli’s kart for two years, remembers those afternoons vividly. Above all, he remembers recognising something in the future Formula 1 champion that he had never seen during nearly three decades in the sport.
Quaglia Faccio has worked in karting since the late 1990s. Based in Piedmont, he began his career with Tecno Kart and has spent approximately the last ten years working alongside Dino Chiesa, one of the figures involved in Antonelli’s early development. He worked directly with the Italian in 2018 and 2019, during his transition from the Mini to the Junior category, when the future Mercedes driver was still a child.
In an interview with Fanpage.it, the mechanic recalled Antonelli’s first tests at Lonato, his ability to learn a circuit in just 15 minutes and the remarkable precision of his driving. He also spoke about their telephone conversations between races, the reprimands that occasionally brought the youngster to tears and the affectionate embraces that invariably followed. Although they now speak only a few times each year, Quaglia Faccio hopes they will one day have another opportunity to celebrate together.
Kimi Antonelli’s former mechanic recalls his exceptional karting talent
Giulio, let’s start with you. How did you get into karting, and how long have you been doing this job?
“I’ve been working in karting for 29 or 30 years. I started with a company that built go-karts near where I live, in Piedmont, called Tecno Kart. We started with the French, European and World Championships. Then I moved to MGM for six years, did some work on my own and eventually joined Dino Chiesa. I’ve now been working with Dino for almost ten years.”
When did you start working with Kimi Antonelli? Do you remember the first time you saw him drive?
“I worked with Kimi in 2018 and 2019, when he had just finished in Mini and moved up to the Junior category. I remember his debut, when he came to do a test at Lonato. It was really impressive.”
What was the first characteristic that made you realise you were dealing with a special driver?
“The speed with which he learned the track. When I was his mechanic, that was what struck me most. If he wasn’t already there by the end of his first session, after fifteen minutes he was very close to being at 100%. He really was a talent.”
The ability to adapt almost immediately to unfamiliar circuits became one of the characteristics Quaglia Faccio most strongly associated with Antonelli. His recollections offer an insight into the abilities that eventually helped the Italian progress through the racing categories and become Formula 1 world champion in 2026.
Why Kimi Antonelli’s driving consistency made kart setup easier
From a technical point of view, what was he like? Was he already capable of giving precise feedback on how to set up the kart?
“Kimi wasn’t particularly good at setting up his kart yet, but he always did the same thing. He was like a metronome. You could watch him driving and understand what the kart needed from the way he drove. With other drivers, however, they might make a mistake in one place on one lap and somewhere else the next time, so you always had to look for a compromise. With him, it was easier to set up the kart because he always did the same things.”
When you stopped working together, did you genuinely believe he would reach Formula 1? Have you encountered other drivers like him over the years?
“Yes, we all thought he would reach Formula 1 because he was at a higher level than the others. I’ve been doing this job for more or less thirty years and, sincerely, he was the first and, so far, the only driver of that kind, at that level. Whatever circuit he went to, he needed just one session to understand it and already be driving as fast as it was possible to go. It was really, really impressive.”
For Quaglia Faccio, Antonelli’s consistency was just as significant as his outright speed. Although the youngster had not yet developed the technical knowledge to identify every setup requirement himself, his repeatable driving made it easier for the mechanics to understand what changes the kart needed.
“He would start crying”: Antonelli’s mechanic recalls childhood reprimands
Dino Chiesa told me that Kimi was a very kind child and that you had to teach him to be tougher in sporting terms. How do you remember him?
“He was kind. He has always been a polite young man. It was lovely having him around because he was always smiling, joking with everyone and hugging everyone. It was a wonderful thing. In my opinion, sometimes he was even too nice to his opponents. In certain situations, I would have stood up for myself a little more. But that’s just the way he was.”
And away from the track? What was your relationship like? Was he a quiet child?
“Away from the track, he was the same as he was on it. He really was a good boy, a kind child who liked to play. He never bullied anyone, never made fun of anybody. Absolutely not. We would sometimes speak on the phone as well, perhaps when two weeks had gone by without seeing each other. Just to check that we were both doing well, or because we couldn’t wait to beat somebody else. Things like that. He was a good boy.”
Did you ever have to tell him off? How did he react when you pointed out a mistake?
“We never had an argument. If he made a mistake, I was the first to criticise him. And sometimes, especially at the beginning, he would start crying because I had told him off and he thought he was right. But it always ended there, with hugs and goodbyes. He was always clinging to me, always in my arms. I was three times his size, and I was playful too. So with someone like that, I couldn’t really behave any differently.”
The affectionate relationship between the two extended well beyond the mechanical work required at the circuit. Quaglia Faccio remembers a youngster who combined exceptional competitiveness with a gentle personality, and whose moments of disappointment quickly gave way to reconciliation.
The 2019 karting world championship defeat that still troubles his mechanic
What was the most difficult race you experienced together? Is there a defeat that still stands out in your memory?
“The World Championship at Alahärmä, in Finland, in 2019. The weather was very uncertain and kept changing. It would rain, then stop. We had got the timing wrong, but we managed to recover a lot of ground before the final. I remember we were on the pre-grid and couldn’t tell whether it would keep raining or stop.
“I think that was a setup mistake on our part, involving tyre pressures and the setup, which prevented him from winning the World Championship when, in my opinion, he certainly deserved it. I remember it well because it had been a difficult year and that could have been a wonderful ending. I think we got the settings wrong in the final.”
Even years later, the mechanic retains a clear sense of responsibility for that missed opportunity. In his assessment, the changing conditions and the team’s setup decisions contributed to a defeat that prevented Antonelli from ending a difficult season with the world championship he deserved.
How Kimi Antonelli celebrated his karting victories
And when you won? How did Kimi celebrate?
“When he won races, we were all happy. We hugged each other and he jumped on everyone. But once the race was over, he went home and I went home. We never held parties afterwards. In karting, it wasn’t customary to celebrate after races. We stayed under the awning until we had finished dismantling everything, and we took the traditional photographs. It was lovely. He laughed and joked with everyone.”
Those memories have taken on particular significance following Antonelli’s championship triumph with Mercedes. The celebrations surrounding his first Formula 1 world title have also prompted emotional reflections from the Italian on his journey and ambitions for the future.
Antonelli’s former mechanic hopes they can celebrate together again
Have you remained in contact since Kimi left karting?
“Yes, we’ve stayed in touch. To be honest, after karting I stopped speaking to him as often as before. We talk two or three times a year. But that’s because it’s right that he follows his own path. I’m a karting man. I’ve spent my life in karting and I’m staying here. So it’s right that he moves forward.”
Now that Kimi has won the Formula 1 world championship, what is your happiest memory of him? And what would you like to say to him?
“The best memory I can have is simply having been fortunate enough to work with him for a couple of years and having stayed in contact with him. And I hope he’ll remember me when the time comes, when we meet up to celebrate all the championships he’ll have won after this one.”
Quaglia Faccio continues to work in the karting world where Antonelli first demonstrated his extraordinary potential. Although their careers have followed different paths, the mechanic still treasures the two seasons they spent together and the bond they maintained afterwards.
Having watched the young Italian develop from a smiling, occasionally tearful karting prodigy into a Formula 1 world champion, he now hopes there will be further successes to celebrate when their paths cross again.
More news about Kimi Antonelli
- Kimi Antonelli’s father reveals when he knew his son could become F1 world champion
- Why Kimi Antonelli will keep number 12 instead of using F1 champion’s number 1
- Toto Wolff praises Kimi Antonelli after his Formula 1 world championship victory
Leave a Reply