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Kimi Antonelli looks set to win this year's F1 Drivers' Championship, with the star only needing to score two points at this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix to snatch the title.
Kimi will make history if he does win, becoming the youngest world champion in the sport's 76-year history. The 20-year-old will surpass Sebastian Vettel, who was 23 when he won the title back in 2010.
It has been a stellar year for the youngster who hadn't even earned his driving licence when he was first signed by Mercedes, and was still studying at school last year, often asking his race engineers for help with his maths homework.
But as he looks set to make history, what do you know about the F1 superstar? From his racing star father to his famous ex-girlfriend, meet Kimi Antonelli down below…
Kimi is the son of former racing driver Marco Antonelli. Although Marco was a motorsport man, he favoured touring cars as opposed to F1 cars, competing in the Italian Superturismo Championship and several GT3 events.
Marco last raced in 2025 in the Italian GT Championship, but he also has a busy life as the manager of AKM Motorsport, which has competed in F4, the Porsche Supercup and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, among others.
Racing was always in his blood, and speaking to the BBC this year, Marco shared: "Kimi from 15 days old was in the garage and heard the sound of the engine and the smell of the exhaust." However, Marco wasn't initially keen on his son competing in motorsport, adding: "Sometimes you are fast but not in the right position to become a professional driver."
Despite this, Kimi was driving from a young age, often sitting on his father's lap while Marco controlled the throttle and brakes, with Kimi doing the rest.
Recalling a scary incident, Marco recounted: "I remember one night I started to fall asleep because I had been at work very early and we had a crash because I didn't brake when we arrived at the end of the straight. And Kimi said: 'Dad, dad, no sleep, no sleep. I have to drive.'"
While the Italian racing driver is believed to be currently single, he was previously in a relationship with kart racer Eli Bábíčková. The pair met through racing, but the couple parted ways in February 2026.
While Kimi hasn't spoken of the split, Eli later posted on social media: "This [break-up is] quite recent because all throughout February, me and Kimi were trying to figure stuff out. We were just not really sure at what point the relationship was ourselves.
"I've seen so much speculation and fake narratives and news, and whatever. That's not right. I want to set the record straight, just so everyone knows and there doesn't need to be any more false, disgusting narratives…
"Yes, we did break up. I was the one to end the relationship... our values towards the end of the relationship were very different... There's no massive drama."
Much has been made about the age of the youngster, who made his debut in F1 when he was just 18. He was still studying in school when he made his grid debut, although many of his lessons happened virtually with teachers sending the work through remotely owing to his sporting commitments.
Speaking on the Fast and the Curious podcast, he said: "My favourite subjects are English, because I know it very well and I don’t have to study it, and then I like PE – you just play around. These are my two favourite subjects."
He previously joked that sometimes when he struggled with his maths homework, he would track down senior engineers within the team.
When the news came through that Kimi had signed for Mercedes in 2024, the then teenager hadn't yet even passed his driving test, although he was fully qualified by the time that he made his grid debut in 2025.