Valentino Rossi source of inspiration for Kimi Antonelli
It is no mystery that Kimi Antonelli and Valentino Rossi have been close friends since long before the 19-year-old made his Formula 1 debut behind the wheel of the Mercedes. Their friendship dates back to some online races held at the time of Covid, and since then the very young man from Bologna has never hidden that he takes inspiration from the Doctor for everything he does. Rossi himself has repeatedly praised Kimi, hinting that he can make his mark in Formula 1 just as he did in MotoGP, in which he won a total of nine world championship titles.
And for that matter, one point the two have in common, and that is their debut in their respective motorsport categories at a very young age: Rossi made his debut in the 125 class in 1996 at the age of 17, on March 31, 1996, in Malaysia, placing sixth riding an Aprilia of the AGV Scuderia, Antonelli on the other hand last March 16 in Melbourne, Australia, at the age of 18, immediately taking an excellent fourth place, although immediately behind his teammate in Mercedes George Russell. Then the season for Kimi has had ups and downs, but from the next one, with the reset of the regulations, everything could change.
Interviewed by automoto.it Antonelli told about his relationship with Rossi this way: “Vale for me is an inspiration. He is a legend of two wheels, but he is really a simple person. We have a good relationship. Sometimes, when we can and with our schedules of course it’s not easy we go karting. I even went to his ranch a couple of times, even to watch the 100 km of champions. It’s nice to have a relationship like that not only with him, but also with the other Academy drivers. It’s really a beautiful group, a lot of fun.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, before making his Formula 1 debut this year, has in Italian Formula 4 and ADAC Formula 4 in 2022 and both European and Middle East Formula Regional in 2023, while in 2024 in Formula 2 he finished sixth in the final standings by winning two races, the first at Silverstone and the second at Hungaroring.
He has been part of planet Mercedes since 2019, when he was a member of the junior team. After a less-than-stellar debut as the third driver at Monza in 2024, when he almost immediately went off the track at the Parabolica, he became an official driver this year, finishing seventh in the drivers’ standings and grabbing a second and two third places.
