Best moments of Kimi Antonelli’s F1 career including first pole, podium, win, records and more

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Kimi Antonelli is one of the most exciting prospects on the F1 grid. From record-breaking pole positions to becoming Italy’s golden child, F1 Oversteer has taken a look back at the Mercedes star’s best moments in the sport.

Mercedes stunned the F1 world after they announced Kimi Antonelli would be filling the void left by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton ahead of the 2025 season.

It was a massive gamble, but one that is now paying dividends for Toto Wolff as he leads the championship during his sophomore term in 2026.

The young Italian’s junior single-seater resume speaks for itself. Dominant championship routs in a variety of Formula 3 and Formula 4 series earned him a spot on Mercedes’ junior roster, and he is now showing exactly why he deserves to be in F1.

• READ MORE: Who is Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli? Age, height, salary and career stats

Where did Kimi Antonelli make his Formula 1 debut?

Kimi Antonelli made his F1 debut at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix, where he impressed in difficult weather conditions after a difficult first qualifying session in the sport.

At 18 years old, the young Italian spiralled out of Q1 with a grid slot of P16, but wasted no time in making his way through the field to secure a mightily impressive P4 on his debut.

F1 pundit Martin Brundle hailed Antonelli’s performance as ‘spectacularly mature’, and it was a glimpse of the talent that Mercedes had seen in him during his rise through the junior single-seater ladder.

Kimi Antonelli became F1’s youngest-ever pole-sitter at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli secured his first pole position in Formula 1 at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix, becoming the youngest-ever pole-sitter in the process.

The Mercedes star pipped his vastly more experienced teammate, George Russell, by just over two tenths in Shanghai, which earned him a place in F1 history.

Kimi Antonelli is now the youngest polesitter in F1 history

Is this the moment that a future world champion announced himself?

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The feat toppled Sebastian Vettel’s 18-year-long tenure in the record books as the youngest pole-sitter in F1 history, with his pole position at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix for Toro Rosso proving to be a tough record to snatch until Antonelli came along.

Antonelli claimed his first Sprint race pole position at the 2025 Miami Grand Prix, at what was only his sixth race weekend as an F1 driver and second with the Sprint format.

Unfortunately, he was unable to convert the front-of-the-pack start into a race win, ultimately claiming P7 at the chequered flag.

When did Kimi Antonelli take his first podium finish in Formula 1?

Kimi Antonelli claimed his first podium in Formula 1 at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix. The Italian finished in P3, behind Grand Prix winner George Russell and that year’s title contender, Max Verstappen.

He started from the second row of the grid in P4, after setting a time some three tenths off his teammate’s pole position benchmark in qualifying.

However, after the lights dropped to signal the start of the Grand Prix in Montreal, Antonelli muscled his way past McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to immediately get himself into the podium-paying positions, where he would stay for the remainder of the race.

Kimi Antonelli won his first Formula 1 race at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli would go on to convert his maiden pole position into a first Formula 1 victory at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.

His feat in Shanghai marked the first Italian recipient of a winners’ trophy in F1 since Giancarlo Fisichella at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Antonelli also became the second-youngest Grand Prix winner in F1 history, behind four-time world champion Max Verstappen.

Kimi Antonelli’s win in Shanghai makes him the second youngest Grand Prix winner in F1 history. Will Max Verstappen’s record ever be broken?!

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Antonelli controlled the pace brilliantly during the Grand Prix, leading all but the opening lap following a fast start from Lewis Hamilton.

He suffered a late scare on his way to the chequered flag after locking up and going wide at turn 14, but managed to wrangle his pacy Mercedes W17 to take his first win in the sport.

Kimi Antonelli has produced some stellar performances during his F1 career

While Antonelli’s F1 career is still very much in its infancy, the 19-year-old has produced some brilliant drives over the course of his two-season-long stint.

His victory at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix was arguably his most impressive run to the chequered flag. After starting from pole position, the Mercedes star was quickly swarmed by the pack after he got off to a poor start.

However, thanks to some quick thinking from the Mercedes pit wall, Antonelli was able to undercut the early leader, Lando Norris, and assume control of the race after the first round of pit stops.

For the final 28 laps of the race, Antonelli was under a massive amount of pressure from the reigning world champion behind him, but the young Italian kept his composure to secure his third consecutive Grand Prix victory in the sport.

Antonelli’s win on the streets of Miami saw him become the very first F1 driver to convert all three of his first three pole positions into Grand Prix victories.

Full list of Kimi Antonelli’s Formula 1 records