‘Just the beginning’ for Antonelli, F1’s prodigious, charismatic new king

Kimi Antonelli has sparked affectionate tributes from all quarters of the Formula One paddock after becoming the sport’s youngest world champion at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

The 20-year-old Italian finished third for Mercedes on Sunday behind Red Bull’s four-time champion Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton – who then hoisted him aloft as a carnival of celebrations began.

“It’s a very special day,” said Antonelli’s race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington, who has worked with seven-time champions Michael Schumacher and Hamilton and regards the new champion – Italy’s first since 1953 – as another generational talent.

“I feel privileged to work with him and to put up with his pranks and tricks, including the water pistols and the rest. It’s him all over.”

Antonelli said it was “truly incredible” to share the podium with multiple champions Verstappen and Hamilton.

“I’m looking forward to more battles with them in the future,” he said. “This is just the beginning. This win is just going to mark a beginning, a new point to build on and keep improving and keep trying to win a championship.”

Lived and breathed motorsports his whole life

The sound of engines and smell of exhausts have been part of Antonelli’s life since he was a child.

The Mercedes driver was barely 10 when he sat on his father Marco’s lap behind the wheel of a competition Lamborghini, changing gears and guiding the car around a racetrack while his father operated the brake and accelerator pedals.

He was eight when his racing driver dad smuggled him into the Formula One paddock for the first time inside a stack of tyres with an umbrella on top.

“Sometimes we may look like lunatics because we just talk about racing,” Antonelli said of his close relationship with his father and the passion they share.

“We like to analyse things together. Racing is always in our minds. We have a lot of fun together, and racing is our passion. It’s what I live for.”

The son of Elisabetta, who stays out of the spotlight, and Marco, a former driver and team principal, Andrea Kimi Antonelli started karting at seven although his father, surprisingly, opposed a career in the sport.

“He didn’t want me to become a driver because motorsports can be very cruel at times, especially financially, since it’s very hard to succeed without the support of the right people,” the younger Antonelli said before the US Grand Prix last month.

“He taught me everything he knew, first about racing and now about life. It’s really important to have him by my side during races.”

Prodigy picked up by Mercedes at 11

Antonelli was spotted and, at the age of 11, recruited by Frenchman Gwen Lagrue, head of the Mercedes junior driver programme, where Hamilton was his mentor.

“He’s incredibly impressive and deserves to be world champion,” said the Englishman, whose record of seven world titles may one day come under threat from his protege.

Antonelli began in karting, dominating the sport in 2020 and 2021. He was Italian and German F4 champion in 2022 and champion in Formula Regional in F3 cars in 2023.

He skipped F3 and went straight into F2 in 2024. Although he finished only sixth, another leap followed when Hamilton left Mercedes for Ferrari.

There were a few bumps and brushes in his rookie year in F1, but he still managed a second place in Sao Paulo and two other podiums, finishing seventh in the championship.

“I said from the start that he had tremendous talent and a great personality but that he would need a season in F1 to grow and learn through both great moments and setbacks,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said.

“He was catapulted into F1, and it wasn’t easy, even though he had always driven very well. He had to handle the pressure, the media and the expectations.”

Always cheerful, smiling and full of jokes, Antonelli has become the life and soul of the paddock. Every news conference is laced with humour with other drivers joining in the fun.

Congratulations from across the world poured in for the new champion, including from Italian compatriots, such as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, football clubs and multiple-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner, who teamed up with Antonelli to give Italy several victorious weekends as the duo triumphed concurrently in their sports.

Six races that made Antonelli world champion

March 15: China

Not only did he become the youngest driver ever to take pole position, but Antonelli, still only 19, went on to win his first grand prix, becoming the second youngest F1 winner behind Verstappen.

May 24: Canada 

Despite teammate George Russell taking pole, the race again belonged to Antonelli, who made it four wins on the bounce as Russell was forced to retire on lap 30 due to a battery/power unit failure, costing him a potential 18 points and widening the gap.

June 7: Monaco

Two weeks later, the Italian again started from pole to make it five wins from five with a first victory on the tight, legendary Monaco street circuit. After six races, Antonelli led Hamilton and Russell by 66 and 68 points, respectively.

September 6: Italy

While Russell started on pole, Antonelli, in his first race as a 20-year-old, was forced to start from 19th on the grid due to an engine penalty. He then proceeded to pick his way through the field and passed Russell to become the first Italian to win the race since Ludovico Scarfiotti 60 years earlier.

September 26: Azerbaijan 

On another street circuit in Baku, Antonelli made a rare error when he pranged his car into a wall during qualifying while Russell took pole. Antonelli didn’t make it on o the podium this time but worked his way up to fifth to puncture Russell’s optimism and close in on the title.

October 4: Malaysia

Antonelli finished second behind a resurgent Verstappen but stretched his lead after Russell, who was running third at the time, was forced to retire just a few laps from the finish.

That took his lead in the championship race to 84 points, essentially ending Russell’s bid to challenge him and signalling the dawn of a new era in Formula One.