Many people will have started hearing the name Kimi Antonelli float about, whether you follow Formula 1 or not.
For those less familiar with the highest tier of motorsport, you might be wondering who is this Italian teenager and how has he risen to the top so quickly.
Those within F1 will tell you that his rise was never in doubt and that it was only a matter of time.
The 19-year-old has done exactly that and has taken the sport by storm.
Who is Kimi Antonelli?
Name: Kimi Antonelli
Age: 19
Hometown: Bologna, Italy
Team: Mercedes
Salary: $2-5 million (£1.4-3.7m)
What was his career path?
Antonelli first started racing in go-karts when he was just five years old and started racing competitively two years later.
He joined the Mercedes Junior Programme in April 2019, aged 12, after winning titles and taking victories in the junior karting categories.
He was world champion in Formula 4 for PREMA Racing and impressed so much that he skipped Formula 3 altogether. He stayed at PREMA Racing and won both the Formula Regional Middle East and European (FRECA) titles in 2023 with the team.
After that, he then became world champion in Formula 2 and was then promoted to F1, a year after winning the F2 title.
It was during the time seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was leaving Mercedes to go to Ferrari after 12 seasons, so it was inevitably big boots to fill for the Mercedes protégé taking the Brit's place.
During his rookie season in 2025, he was on the podium three times and ended up finishing the season in seventh.
F1 records
Antonelli has broken several records since the start of the 2026 season that started in March.
He holds the record for the youngest driver to lead a grand prix, the youngest to secure a pole position for a grand prix, the youngest driver to set a fastest lap and the youngest-ever world championship leader.
He also became the third youngest driver to start an F1 race at 18 years, six months, and 20 days old, at the Australian Grand Prix in 2025.
How is his 2026 season going?
Mercedes were dubbed to be the team to beat going into the season which is a new era of racing with new rules and regulations, essentially a clean slate for the 11 teams on the grid.
Antonelli's teammate George Russell won the season-opener at the Australian Grand Prix, but for the next five races Antonelli was dominant and got consecutive career victories.
He's currently leading the drivers' championship by 50 points from Hamilton, with Russell a further nine points behind Hamilton.
The last race Antonelli won was the Belgian Grand Prix in July.