Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Andrea Kimi Antonelli is an Italian racing driver born on 25 August 2006. A long-time Mercedes junior, he tore through the single-seater ladder, winning both the Italian and ADAC Formula 4 titles in 2022 and the Formula Regional European and Middle East championships in 2023, before being fast-tracked to Formula 1. In just 34 starts he has already taken six wins, eleven podiums and five pole positions, scoring 354 career points.

Antonelli stepped up to Mercedes in 2025 to replace the departed Lewis Hamilton, an enormous responsibility for a teenager. He handled it with maturity, taking podiums and a pole in his rookie year and finishing seventh in the championship on 150 points. In 2026 he has exploded into a title contender, reeling off victories at the front of the field.

In 2026 Antonelli partners George Russell at Mercedes. After eleven rounds he leads the drivers' standings, sitting first on 219 points with six wins. He backed up his dominant Spa victory with a third place at the Hungaroring in Round 11, extending his championship lead to 50 points over Lewis Hamilton on a weekend where McLaren and Red Bull set the pace.

Antonelli combines exceptional natural speed with a calm, analytical approach that belies his youth. Groomed by Mercedes from an early age, he carries the weight of being Italy's brightest F1 hope in a generation, and his rapid evolution from rookie to championship leader has marked him as a potential future world champion.