Waiting for Kimi Antonelli: Italian stories in Formula 1. The Formula 1 Italian drivers who left their mark on the Circus.

The return of an Italian
The Australian Grand Prix will not only mark the long-awaited start of the 2025 Formula 1 season but also a memorable moment for several drivers making their official Formula 1 debut. Among them will be Bologna-born Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who, at 18, will inherit the Mercedes seat vacated by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Having grown within Brackley’s Junior Team, Antonelli will also bring Italian colors back to Formula 1, which have been absent since the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

On that occasion, Antonio Giovinazzi’s F1 journey came to an end behind the wheel of the Alfa Romeo, with the Apulian driver later becoming Ferrari’s third driver and an official competitor for the Prancing Horse in the WEC, where he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023. Since then, Formula 1 has not seen any Italians on the starting grid, except for Kimi Antonelli himself in two FP1 sessions last year at Monza and in Mexico.

The record holders
A total of 83 Italians have taken part in at least one Formula 1 race, with Antonelli soon set to join this list in Melbourne. Only seven have surpassed the 100-race mark, with the all-time record belonging to Riccardo Patrese: the driver from Padua participated in 256 GPs from 1977 to 1993, securing 37 podiums and 281 points—both records. The most race wins and pole positions, however, belong to Alberto Ascari, who achieved 13 victories and 14 pole starts. Additionally, Ascari remains the only Italian to have won multiple world titles, securing back-to-back championships in 1952 and 1953, while Giuseppe Farina became the first-ever Formula 1 world champion in 1950.

The last victories
Since 1953, no Italian driver has won the world championship, though Italian racers have claimed a total of 46 Grand Prix victories, including those by the late Elio De Angelis and Michele Alboreto. The most recent win dates back to the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix, achieved by Giancarlo Fisichella. The Roman driver was also the last Italian to secure a pole position, doing so at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix. In the same season, at the Japanese Grand Prix, Jarno Trulli became the last Italian to stand on the podium, as well as the last to set a fastest lap in a race, which he accomplished at the Bahrain Grand Prix.