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

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli is an elite young driver who made his debut in Formula 1 in 2025 for Mercedes. F1 Oversteer has everything you need to know about the Italian driver

The Silver Arrows snapped Antonelli up for their driver programme whilst he was still racing in go-karts in 2019. Mercedes saw great potential in the youngster after dominating several categories and later helped Antonelli hastily move into single-seaters after his 15th birthday.

His rapid rise up the junior single-seater categories also yielded more rich success. So, after winning races as a rookie in F2, Mercedes selected Antonelli to replace Lewis Hamilton and debut in F1 from the 2025 season. The team also confirmed it at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix.

Mercedes’ Formula 1 team principal Toto Wolff played a key role in the Silver Arrows signing Antonelli to their driver programme. He also worked with James Vowles during the Williams team principal’s run as Mercedes’ F1 strategy director and in charge of their driver academy

Antonelli then took his skills into single-seaters as soon as he was eligible after turning 15 in 2021. He even tasted success in his first full season in 2022 by winning an Italian and ADAC Formula 4 championship double. The Mercedes protégé dominated both series, too.

What age is Kimi Antonelli and when is his birthday?

At the time of writing, Andrea Kimi Antonelli is 19 years old. The Mercedes driver was born on 25 August 2006 and is the son of Italian race car driver, Marco Antonelli. The young driver chooses to be known by his middle name ‘Kimi’ over his full name as it’s more unique than the common Italian ‘Andrea’.

Despite speculation that Antonelli’s middle name was given to him by his father who was a fan of 2007 F1 drivers’ champion Kimi Raikkonen, this fact is actually untrue. Mercedes shared a TikTok video during the 2025 season where Antonelli reveals that his middle name actually came from a family friend and was given to him because it fit well with his first name.

Where was Andrea Kimi Antonelli born?

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was born in Bologna – the same city in northern Italy where his father Marco Antonelli was born. Bologna is also the historic capital of the Emilia Romagna region. Bologna has a population within the city’s boundaries of around 390,000 residents in 2024.

How tall is Andrea Kimi Antonelli?

Andrea Kimi Antonelli is one of the shortest drivers on the 2026 F1 grid, measuring in at 1.72 metres, or 5ft 6in tall. The Mercedes driver is the same height as Fernando Alonso, with the pair only slightly taller than the shortest driver Isack Hadjar who is 1.67m (5ft 5in) tall.

What is Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s salary?

According to Forbes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was the tenth-highest-paid Formula 1 driver in 2025 during his debut season. The Mercedes driver reportedly made a combined £9.7 million ($12.5m) last year, including his £3.7m ($5m) salary.

After just one season in Formula 1, Celebrity Net Worth have reported that Antonelli has a net worth of £3.7m ($5m).

Who are Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s family, including dad Marco Antonelli?

Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s father, Marco Antonelli, is the owner and also team principal of AKM Motorsport, which has raced and succeeded in various categories. Marco has also raced in a mix of GT categories under an FIA bronze licence but has seldom had success as a driver.

AKM Motorsport has tasted successes in the Italian GT Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup Italy, Lamborghini SuperTrofeo (Pro-Am) and the Italian GT Cup. The team, which previously operated as Antonelli Motorsport, has even competed in rally racing and hill climb events.

Marco’s racing career, meanwhile, started in 1986 and saw him race in DTM and the Super Touring championship. But his attentions turned to creating a team of his own in 1993 with an outfit in San Marino. AKM Motorsport changed names in 2020 when it entered karting.

Marco is married to Kimi’s mother, Veronica, with the couple also sharing a younger daughter called Maggie. The family have been spotted multiple times in the paddock during the 2025 season, with Antonelli saying it is “really important” to have them by his side.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s girlfriend Eliska Babickova announces break up

Andrea Kimi Antonelli had been dating karting racer and social media influencer Eliska Babickova since October 2023. The Czech native made history in 2023 when she became the first female champion in the OK category of the Italian Karting Championship.

The couple had kept their relationship relatively private, although Babickova has been seen at a couple of grands prix in 2025. After heavy speculation online that the pair had split, she took to social media a week before the start of the 2026 season to announce that they had broken up.

In a video posted to Instagram and TikTok, Babickova revealed she had ended her relationship with Antonelli, sharing that she felt the pair: “no longer aligned in our personal lives and what we wanted for our futures”.

Babickova also addressed the cheating allegations made towards the pair, telling her 73k followers: “I think it is super wrong of anyone to assume that because it’s very misrepresentative of who me and Kimi are as people”.

How to watch the Andrea Kimi Antonelli documentary ‘The Seat’

During the 2025 Formula 1 season, Netflix released an exclusive documentary about Andrea Kimi Antonelli titled ‘The Seat’. The short 41-minute film followed the Mercedes as they were faced with the monumental driver change, when Lewis Hamilton announced he was leaving the team.

Fans were taken inside Mercedes as bosses, including team principal and CEO tested Antonelli’s potential before making the decision to promote him into Formula 1. Netflix went behind the scenes in the young Italian’s life as he prepared to become the third youngest driver in F1 history.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli completes high school during maiden F1 season

Due to his young age, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was still studying at the Istituto Tecnico Salvemini di Casalecchio in Bologna during his maiden Formula 1 season. The Mercedes driver was still studying during the early part of the 2025 season, taking his exams between his maiden podium in Canada and the Austrian Grand Prix two weeks later.

A month before, the young driver brought his entire class to his home race at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari de Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, giving them a tour of the paddock and the Mercedes buildings.

Kimi Antonelli’s Formula 1 career stats

Kimi Antonelli had the most impressive season out of the 2025 rookies, being the only one to achieve multiple podium finishes. The young Mercedes driver is the only rookie to appear in the top ten of the championship standings, finishing seventh, just behind his predecessor Lewis Hamilton.