F1, Kimi Antonelli does not hide emotion and sends a message to Lewis Hamilton

Kimi Antonelli ready for F1 debut

After three seasons without Italian drivers, Formula 1 is back to have a representative of the Bel Paese on the grid: it is Kimi Antonelli, a very young new Mercedes starting driver. The Emilian, born in 2006, picks up a very heavy inheritance, that of Lewis Hamilton, and will team up with George Russell, now a veteran of the top open-wheel competition despite being still far from 30 years of age (he was born in 1998).

"It's crazy to be able to race against drivers like Lewis, even more so because heé drives the Mercedes – said Antonelli during the press conference presenting the Australian GP – It will be special to share the track with him and the other great drivers of Formula 1, which I was accustomed to see on TV".

Antonelli, who finished sixth in the F2 World Championship last year, had already driven the Mercedes in F1, in the free practice of the Italian GP and in the Mexico GP: "Lewis gave me a lot of advice and was always kind to me,” he said. “He is not only a great driver, but also a wonderful person".

A precocious talent, Andrea Kimi Antonelli (whose name è a clear homage to Kimi Raikkonen) dominated the Italian Formula 4 and F4 ADAC in 2022, then won the Formula Regional Middle East and European Formula in 2023. In 2024 the jump to F2 without going through F3: a calculated risk, which also yielded two seasonal victories. Now, però, è time to see him grapple with F1.