Kimi Antonelli has had a meteoric rise through the ranks of motorsport, and the Italian will make another big jump in 2025.
The 18-year-old will be moving to Formula 1 next season with Mercedes, coming in as the replacement for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli has been part of the Silver Arrows’ junior team since 2019 and have been instrumental in his rise through the ranks.
The Italian will make the step to the pinnacle of motorsport after just one season in Formula 2. Racing with PREMA, Antonelli is currently sixth in the standings with two rounds to go.
Mercedes have given him a handful of tests in older machinery and he has made two FP1 appearances this season at his home race in Monza – where he crashed after just 10 minutes – and at Mexico City.
PREMA sought to give Kimi Antonelli information as quickly as possible after agreeing to promote him to Formula 2
Antonelli’s incredible junior career that consists of multiple titles is the key reason why he is making significant jumps towards F1. The most notable of these jumps is the one he made to get to F2.
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The Italian skipped Formula 3 to F2 by moving from FRECA after winning the championship with five wins and 11 podiums in 2023.
Stepping from Formula Regional machinery and into an F2 car is a ‘massive’ step according to PREMA managing director Rene Rosin, who speaking on the Inside Line F1 Podcast, explained how the team managed the teenager in this huge move.
Talking about the discussions within the team about moving Antonelli into F2, Rosin said: “It was a talk that we had and on the other hand, I understand their point of view. Of course you can agree, you can disagree, this is something personal that is related between the two things.
“But in the end, we made this choice, we agreed on this choice between when we signed the agreement, we were in agreement. I could have even said no, but I said ‘no, ok, let’s go for it’ and we’re just trying to as much information to Kimi as possible just to give him all the knowledge as quickly as possible to step up in Formula 2.
“The step from FRECA to Formula 2 is massive and it’s, I would say difficult, but he’s achieving pretty well and I’m really proud of the job that all the team has done together with him.”
Kimi Antonelli has had an impressive debut season in Formula 2
With two rounds left of the 2024 season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, Antonelli does have a mathematical chance of adding another title to his impressive junior career. But that chance is fairly unlikely, with Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar set to battle for the F2 crown.
But that should not take anything away from the Italian, who has enjoyed a solid season in F2. After a rocky start with seven points finishes from the opening 14 races, Antonelli grabbed his first win in the series in the Sprint Race at Silverstone.
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His second win came in the Feature Race in Hungary and the 18-year-old grabbed his third podium of the year last time out in Baku with third in the Feature Race.
Sitting sixth in F2 after jumping from FRECA is a great feat achieved by Antonelli, but with his move to Mercedes, there will be even more pressure on his shoulders to continue delivering the results that he has done everywhere he has gone.