How Kimi Antonelli went from junior sensation to Grand Prix winner

In 2025, Formula One welcomed six new rookies to the grid, but none arrived with more pressure than Kimi Antonelli. Following a season of highs and lows, the young Italian secured his maiden victory in Shanghai with a sensational second drive of 2026.

Kimi Antonelli on top of the podium in Shanghai following his impressive race win | Credit: Formula One

Antonelli has had an eventful F1 career so far. With multiple records set, a Netflix special about his move to Mercedes and now a race win under his belt, 2026 is looking up for Antonelli as the teenage driver has entered his second season in the sport.

Saturday’s qualifying session saw Antonelli clinch pole position for the first time in his F1 career, becoming the youngest driver to do so. He managed to make history again the following day by converting his starting position into a race win.

It hasn’t been an easy journey for the youngster after being brought in to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. However, he has finally risen to the occasion and is now an F1 race winner. Let’s take a look back at Antonelli’s journey to see how it all unfolded.

Rising through the ranks

Since starting kart racing at the age of seven, Antonelli’s rise through the ranks was nothing short of rapid. 

After dominating the karting scene, he caught the eye of Toto Wolff and signed as a Mercedes junior driver in 2019, where he then competed in several racing series’.

Antonelli's first win in Formula 2 at Silverstone | Credit: Formula 2

During his junior years, Antonelli won multiple championships. He competed in the Italian Formula 4 Championship and won in 2022. In 2022, he also won the German based ADAC F4 Championship.

Following his other two victories of the FR Middle East and the FR European championships, Antonelli bypassed Formula 3 and jumped straight into Formula 2. In his 2024 F2 season racing with PREMA, he finished the season with a tally of 113 points, placing him sixth in the standings.

The F1 contract was signed

Major news broke in February 2024 that Hamilton would be leaving Mercedes after seven world title wins to join Ferrari the following year. It was a move that was suspected for a while, but still came as a shock to many.

With this came the question: “Who will take Hamilton’s place at Mercedes?”

At the end of the 2024 summer break, Antonelli was confirmed as Hamilton’s replacement to partner George Russell the next year. Max Verstappen had initially been rumoured to move to the German outfit, however Wolff went with the young prodigy in hopes of creating a future world champion.

The pressure was put onto him quickly. We had already seen Antonelli take part in an F1 race weekend in Free Practice 1 of the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, filling in for Russell. He had set the fastest lap before crashing 10 minutes into the session.

He took part in another FP1 session in Mexico City where his session ended before it was complete again due to sustaining floor damage. Through it all, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff defended Antonelli, showing faith in the young driver ahead of his official F1 debut.

2025 rookie season

Antonelli following his second place finish in Brazil | Credit: Formula One

His debut as a contracted F1 driver came at the Australian Grand Prix, where he climbed from his qualifying position of sixth up to fourth, a seriously impressive start to his maiden F1 campaign.

During this year, he set some new records and made history in the sport. The second-youngest points-scorer in F1 history, the youngest driver to lead a race and the youngest polesitter in any race format. It was a steady start for the young prodigy, but it didn’t come without any low points.

At the Italian Grand Prix, his race was cut short due to a mechanical issue. Of course, issues like this are out of his control, but it can easily knock a driver’s confidence, especially at a race as special as their first home race.

Throughout the season, Antonelli made several errors, which is to be expected in his rookie season. However, a moment such as his first ever podium finish in Canada was a nice surprise. Canada wasn’t the only weekend that Antonelli finished in the top three. He managed to stand on the podium three separate times in his rookie season, with the second time being in São Paulo and the third in Las Vegas.

By the end of the season, Antonelli had racked up 150 points, placing him at seventh in the drivers’ standings and outscoring his fellow rookie drivers. Seventh in the drivers’ standings is not an achievement to be overlooked. It is a seriously impressive result for a driver in their first year in the sport, and it set Antonelli up nicely ahead of the 2026 season, where major changes were made to the F1 cars and rules.

2026 is a new high

Antonelli and Wolff celebrating the Italian's maiden F1 race win | Credit: Formula One

During the pre-season tests, Mercedes' new package looked promising from the kickoff. With Russell being the favourite out of the sessions, it was clear that Mercedes had a car made for winning.

Come Australia, Mercedes dominated for most of the weekend, with Antonelli finishing second in FP2, and in qualifying. During Sunday’s race, he had the third fastest lap overall, and finished second on the podium behind his teammate.

This last weekend in China, Mercedes led the full weekend again, with Antonelli being quickest in qualifying to start at the front of the grid for the race. This was his first pole position for an F1 grand prix.

In the opening lap, Antonelli briefly lost the lead to the Ferrari of Hamilton, but the teenager responded quickly and in the following lap, he reclaimed his position as race leader, setting the tone for a controlled and confident drive that would deliver the first victory of his F1 career.

The 19-year-old stood tall on the top step of the podium in Shanghai after scoring a hat-trick. With a pole position, race win and fastest lap all in the one race weekend, he is now the youngest driver in F1 history to achieve this impressive feat.

There were smiles all round after the race as the podium had the most ideal lineup for Antonelli’s first win. Russell to his right, Hamilton to his left and his race engineer Peter “Bono” Bonnington up to accept the Constructors’ trophy, it was a feel-good moment for everyone involved.

It hasn’t been an easy journey for Antonelli, but so far, it has been a sensational start to his long career ahead. His win in China was less of a surprise and more like the beginning of something bigger, and we could be looking at a future championship contender.

The next stop on the F1 calendar is Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix. If this race in two weeks is anything like the first two rounds of the season, Mercedes and Antonelli are in for another positive weekend amidst a controversial new era of regulations.