Neither former F2 champion has a racing resume quite like Antonelli, whose chances rest upon his F2 performances and ultimately how he compares with Prema team-mate, Ferrari junior and fellow F1 hopeful Oliver Bearman.
“Kimi’s been with Mercedes since he was 11,” Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff told media in the wake of Hamilton’s Ferrari departure. “If we start to spin his mind or unleash rumours in the media onto him, that’s not going to help his F2 campaign.
“He’s just stepped out of karts a few years ago and he’s not even 18. So I would rather not start any speculation about Kimi going into Formula 1 at that stage.”
Antonelli has already completed some pre-season testing with Prema in which he impressed even further — besting fellow F2 drivers in F3 machinery by whole seconds in pouring rain.
Will his junior success continue in F1’s feeder series? His racing career so far certainly suggests that his meteoric rise could continue…
Karting
Antonelli’s racing career began on the same path as many. Aged seven, he got behind the wheel of a go-kart for the first time. Two years later, he marked himself apart by winning the EasyKart International Grand Final despite having qualified on the eleventh row of the grid with more than 20 racers in front of him.
In the seasons that followed, the Italian continued his development in the WSK — a renowned karting series in Europe which proved integral in the careers of Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant. In 2018 he won the finale of the WSK Champions Cup 60 Mini and also took overall victory in the ROK Cup International Final.
In 2019, Antonelli would arguably have his best year in a go-kart as he won the WSK Super Master Series and the WSK Euro Series while also placing fifth in his first trip to the FIA World Championships. Further podium finishes in the FIA European Championship and the Italian Championship as well as back-to-back victories in the WSK Open Cup and WSK Final Cup were ultimately enough to convince Toto Wolff of his talent, and Antonelli was signed to the Mercedes Junior Academy where he has remained to this day.
Now with the backing of a F1 constructor, Antonelli’s development took another step forward in 2020 and his final year in karts was marked mainly by success, with wins in the WSK Euro Series and the FIA European Championship.
Watch Antonelli’s first karting win here
Formula 4
Antonelli made his first leap into single-seaters in 2021 — racing in selected events in both the Italian Formula 4 Championship and the Formula 4 UAE Championship.
In the former, the Italian made nine race starts, stood on the podium three consecutive times at Monza and ultimately finished 10th in the drivers’ standings — while future Prema team-mate Bearman took overall honours. In the latter, Antonelli found even more success, winning two races and scoring a further five podium finishes.
The following year, Antonelli would return to the Italian F4 championship to truly mark himself as a future F1 prospect, winning 13 races in total while also capturing pole position and the fastest lap in all but six rounds out of 20. The 15-year-old simultaneously competed in the ADAC F4 Championship, which he similarly dominated — winning the title courtesy of nine race victories, 12 podium finishes and seven pole positions.
His most eye-catching performance of the year arguably came at Yas Marina, where he saw off team-mate Aiden Neate by just 0.003sec to take the chequered flag — although the youngsters got so caught up in the moment that they both continued to race for a whole lap after the chequered flag was waved, with Ferrari junior James Wharton in tow.
Formula Regional
Although Antonelli’s racing resume is certainly impressive, it’s his most recent performances with Prema in the Formula Regional series which have put him firmly on the radar. Both series use F3-based cars and Antonelli thrived with the extra power and driving complexity.
In 2023, he ran in both the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine and in the Middle East Championship. On many circuits used by Formula 1 — including Imola, the Hungaroring, Spa-Francorchamps, Paul Ricard, Monza, Zandvoort and Yas Marina — Antonelli was dominant and consistent, resulting in eight victories and 10 podium finishes overall.
Continuing his astronomical rise, Antonelli has been promoted to F2 for 2024 where he will continue to race with Prema.
Kimi Antonelli’s career so far
| Year | Championship | Result |
| Karting | ||
| 2015 | EasyKart International Grand Final | 1st |
| 2016 | WSK Final Cup 60 Mini | 6th |
| 2017 | WSK Champions Cup 60 Mini Italian Championship 60 Mini |
6th 8th |
| 2018 | WSK Champions Cup 60 Mini WSK Master Series 60 Mini WSK Final Cup OKJ Italian Championship 60 Mini ROK Cup International Final WSK Super Master Series 60 Mini |
1st 3rd 5th 2nd 1st 3rd |
| 2019 | WSK Super Master Series OKJ WSK Champions Cup OKJ WSK Euro Series OKJ FIA World Championship OKJ FIA European Championship OKG SKUSA SuperNationals XXIII Italian Championship OKG WSK Open Cup OKJ WSK Final Cup OKJ |
1st 4th 1st 5th 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 1st |
| 2020 | WSK Super Master Series OK FIA European Championship OK WSK Euro Series OK FIA World Championship |
2nd 1st 1st DNS |
| F4 | ||
| 2021 | Italian Formula 4 Formula 4 UAE Championship |
Selected events Selected events |
| 2022 | Italian Formula 4 ADAC F4 Championship |
1st 1st |
| Formula Regional | ||
| 2023 | European Championship Middle East Championship |
1st 1st |
| F2 | ||
| 2024 | ? | ? |