Andrea Kimi Antonelli, born on August 25, 2006 in the Italian town of Bologna, is an Italian Formula 1 driver who races for the Mercedes F1 team. His teammate in 2026 is George Russell.

Antonelli was announced in August 2024 as the replacement for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Despite being only 18 years old at the time, he was not promoted without reason. Antonelli has won nearly everything he has competed in. That success started at a young age in karting, where he consistently set the fastest times and dominated races. He won the World Cup, Masters and the European Kart Championship, claiming the latter two years in a row.

His first full season in the Italian Formula 4 Championship was dominant. Antonelli won 13 out of 20 races and stood on the podium 15 times. In that same year (2022), he also won the ADAC Formula 4 Championship and the FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 Cup. In 2024, Mercedes chose to skip Formula 3 and move him directly into Formula 2, seeing it as sufficient preparation for Formula 1.

Antonelli has a strong mentor in his father Marco Antonelli. He is a racing driver himself, mainly active in GT racing. In 2022, he won a race in the International GT Open-AM with AKM Motorsport. Antonelli therefore grew up in a racing environment.

Antonelli made his official Formula 1 debut in 2025 as George Russell’s teammate. His route to Formula 1 shows similarities with Max Verstappen’s path. Like Verstappen, Antonelli entered Formula 1 at a very young age and skipped a category: Verstappen skipped Formula 2, while Antonelli skipped Formula 3. He also had big expectations as the successor to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

The 2025 season was mixed for the Italian. In Australia, he was one of the few rookies to keep his car out of the wall in wet conditions. In Miami, he secured his first pole position for the sprint race. Later in the season, he scored his first Formula 1 podium in Canada.

During the European part of the season, Antonelli struggled for results without a clear explanation. Towards the end of the year, he regained form, taking podium finishes in Brazil and Las Vegas.

Antonelli’s two victories in China and Japan in 2026 marked his breakthrough in Formula 1. In China, he secured his first pole position and his first Grand Prix victory, immediately confirming his potential.

Two weeks later in Japan, he followed that up with another win. Despite a poor start that dropped him to sixth, he fought back through the field and capitalised on a safety car to take the lead. With these back-to-back wins, Antonelli became the youngest championship leader and established himself as a serious title contender.

During the Canadian Grand Prix, Antonelli claimed his first podium in Formula 1. At 18 years and 294 days old, he became the third-youngest driver ever to finish on the podium. Only Lance Stroll and Max Verstappen achieved that at a younger age.

Antonelli signed a new contract with Mercedes in 2025. Initially, he only had a deal for that season, but midway through the year he secured an extension for another year. He will therefore continue racing for Mercedes in 2026, alongside George Russell.

Since October 2023, Antonelli has been in a relationship with karting driver Eliska Babickova. The Czech driver has competed in multiple karting championships and became Italian OK Kart champion in 2023. The two regularly share photos together on social media.

Antonelli’s salary at Mercedes in 2025 was estimated at just under €2 million. For 2026, that figure is reportedly around €5 million. This is still significantly lower than teammate George Russell, whose salary is estimated at around €14 million. Antonelli’s total net worth is currently unknown.

At the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season, Antonelli is no longer the youngest driver on the grid; that distinction belongs to Arvid Lindblad. Antonelli was born on August 25, 2006 in Bologna. He is 1.72 metres tall, which is average for a Formula 1 driver.

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