Antonelli - the boy 'born in a garage' who started driving on dad's lap — SkimNews
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- Kimi Antonelli drove a Lamborghini at 320km/h on his father Marco's lap at age 10 at the Adria circuit in north-east Italy, with Marco controlling throttle and brake while Kimi handled steering and gears—correcting oversteer at the limit
- Marco Antonelli, Kimi's father, nearly became a DTM works driver in the 1990s but lost out on opportunities with Alfa Romeo and BMW after management changes at both teams
- Mercedes signed Kimi to their driver academy at age 11 after scout Gwen Lagrue flew to Italy; Kimi had been racing a kart with less power than his rivals, which impressed the scout
- Antonelli swept Formula 4 championships in 2022 and Formula Regional in 2023, prompting Toto Wolff to plan him as Lewis Hamilton's eventual replacement
- Lewis Hamilton signed with Ferrari for 2025 after Wolff would only offer a one-year firm contract instead of Hamilton's requested two, with Hamilton informing Wolff in late January 2024
- Antonelli had a dramatic F1 practice debut at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, setting the fastest time on his first lap before crashing heavily at Parabolica
- Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes' trackside engineering director, said Antonelli adapted to an F1 car faster than any driver he'd seen except George Russell
Why it matters: At 19, Antonelli is the youngest driver leading an F1 championship, and his rapid adaptation—faster than anyone Mercedes has seen except Russell—validates Toto Wolff's gamble of replacing seven-time champion Hamilton a year earlier than planned. Mercedes now enters its post-Hamilton era with a generational talent groomed since age 11.
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