Who is Andrea Kimi Antonelli?

Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been brought into a lot of conversations the past couple of months, so shall we spread some light on who he is?

Mercedes protege, Kimi Antonelli has been the talk of the Formula 1 paddock since the Miami GP – with some suggesting his arrival in the sport is imminent while others say there’s no rush.

The Italian driver is the reigning Formula Regional European champion, backed by Mercedes, who has performed so strongly that he has skipped F3 and gone straight to F2 this season with Prema.

Alongside his F2 duties, Mercedes have carefully crafted a Formula 1 acclimatisation programme for Antonelli, which began with a run in a 2021-spec Mercedes in Austria and was then followed up with a run in the 2022 Mercedes at Imola.

Several more tests are planned across the year, with the focus on getting the 17 year old plenty of mileage in F1 machinery to prepare him as best as they can for a step up to F1 at some point.

Mercedes do not want to rush Antonelli into Formula 1 and risk damaging a talent so good, he has been likened to Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at this stage of his career.

However, things have changed since Hamilton told Mercedes he was leaving a year earlier than planned to join Ferrari.
This then forced the Silver Arrows to consider the possibility of bringing Antonelli into F1 at least a year earlier than they had ever contemplated.

Then in Miami, the prospect of Antonelli making his debut in Formula 1 this season was raised when it emerged that governing body the FIA had received a request to give the Italian – who already has the 40 Super Licence points to race in F1 – dispensation to race in the championship before he turns 18 which he will do on August 25th of this year.

There was rumours for the Italian to be brought in halfway through this season but for Williams and Logan Sargeant if he isn’t performing.
But Mercedes priority will be to stick to the plan with Antonelli and prepare him properly and then guide him into Formula 1 and nurture what could be an incredible talent.

How do you think Antonelli will get on for his first possible year in F1?