Kimi Antonelli and the leap in Formula 2: proof that we should never put a limit to dreams

Newly crowned FRECA champion, Italian, young and fast: in Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s CV there is certainly no lack of qualities. With an already impressive career at just 17, it’s easy to look at his future, which could be just as brilliant as that of motorsport legends. The debut in Formula 2 is just the beginning of what will be a great path for the Bolognese...

Photo by Riccardo Compierchio

Writing about someone like Andrea Kimi Antonelli is never easy, because results on track speak for him: there is no need for big statements, pompous interviews or to steal those few free moments he has on track. All you have to do is set your eyes on him from the moment he drops the visor and accelerates to get out of the pit lane. There Kimi starts talking. In his trajectories you can read all that he carries on his shoulders, you can see those little habits learned in karting that never left and how every little mistake he made taught him to improve.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a driver quite like him, one of those who moves the crowds already from the preparatory categories and that once he gets on track leaves nothing to anyone, regardless of the car he has on hand. In single seaters or on covered wheels, Antonelli proved to be ready. Chosen by the Mercedes Junior Academy and followed by Toto Wolff for about 5 years now, the youngster has never ceased to impress anyone who has spent their time on track. In the paddocks frequented so far by the “little” champion, there is no person who talks about him in a negative way or with angry eyes, on the contrary, they are all aware that one day we will hear of him at the highest levels.

After growing up with bread and karts, accompanied in every step by his father Marco, a great motorsport expert and driver in the first place, he debuted in Formula 4 with Prema Racing, one of the most successful teams in the preparatory series to Formula 1, that counts endless successes and victories in virtually every circuit it has raced in. Together with the team from Vicenza, Antonelli won the Italian and German Formula 4 title in 2022, dominating both championships from start to finish and giving great satisfaction to his entourage. Crowned Italian champion at Mugello circuit, the Bolognese announced his plans for 2023, that would see him engaged in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, always with Prema Racing.

Once he arrived at the wheel of the cars chosen fort he European championship, after a winter spent in the Middle East at the wheel of the FRMEC cars in which he graduated champion in a short time, Andrea did not take long to make everyone understand that even in that opportunity it would’ve been him the driver to manage the pace of the championship. Because of some bad luck and the continuous twists - that characterize the preparatory formulas - Antonelli took a little longer than expected to take home the title, after a fight until the last corner with Martinius Stenshorne.

Photo by Riccardo Compierchio

Along with the title won came the official status of what will be the future of the young Kimi, who will be engaged in the FIA Formula 2 championship throughout 2024. With the support of Mercedes and Prema Racing Andrea will be at the start of the preparatory series closest to Formula 1, in a season that already promises to be extremely interesting given the change of car, the result of Dallara’s hard work to make it equal for everyone, which will allow the Bolognese to be on the same level as the others. The news did not surprise anyone, given the rumors that were already around for a couple of months, but the confirmation of such an important move added even more honor to the season that just ended.

"Is he biting off more than he can chew?" is what many people are wondering but, resuming the opening of this article, you can only let the track answer to that. What Kimi has built in recent years shows how much of a complete driver he already is, a driver who knows how to handle many situations and with an experience to be the envy of many. Kilometer by kilometer Andrea has written the first pages of his history in the world of engines in an excellent way and the next stages that await him will find him ready, maybe even more than you’d expect.

The little Andrea who was riding on karts probably didn’t expect to arrive in Formula 2 with a prelude like this; his name allover the newspapers, hundreds of fans waiting outside the box, the consideration of being already a great anchor in the “world of the small” by the majority of his colleagues. What he’ll be able to do once he arrives on the tracks that’ll be shared with Formula 1 cannot be predicted, but it is certain that he will arrive with a wealth of experiences that already make him one of the brightest stars of the future of motorsport.

Photo by Riccardo Compierchio

Article translated by Cristina Mazzotti