Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Andrea Kimi Antonelli (born 25 August 2006) is an Italian racing driver who competes in Formula One for Mercedes. He won the 2026 World Drivers' Championship, becoming the youngest World Drivers' Champion in history at age 20 and the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

Antonelli was born and raised in Bologna, the son of sportscar racing driver Marco Antonelli. In karting he won the senior European Championship in both 2020 and 2021. Moving up to single-seaters, he won both the Italian and ADAC F4 titles with Prema in 2022 and took a gold medal for Italy at the FIA Motorsport Games; in 2023 he won both the European and Middle East Formula Regional championships, and also won a race in Italian GT3. In 2024 he skipped Formula 3 and went straight to FIA Formula 2, winning two races and finishing sixth in his rookie season.

A member of the Mercedes Junior Team since 2019, he replaced Lewis Hamilton alongside George Russell at Mercedes in 2025, becoming the third-youngest driver in Formula One history at 18, and took his first podium in Canada. With Mercedes the leading team in 2026, he became the youngest polesitter in Formula One history in China, where he also won his first Grand Prix, and went on to win nine Grands Prix, including his home race in Italy, before clinching the title at the Mexico City Grand Prix. He is also the youngest driver to set a fastest lap and to score a grand chelem. As of the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix he had 9 wins, 7 pole positions, 10 fastest laps, and 19 podiums from 43 starts, and he is under contract with Mercedes until at least the end of the 2027 season.