Fast forward to September 2026: Antonelli leads the world championship by 59 points after outclassing his much more experienced teammate George Russell in a rocket-ship Mercedes. In a remarkable 12 months, the young Italian has gone from understudy prospect to number one driver and world championship favourite.
The sky is the limit for a young Italian who became the youngest driver in history to lead a world championship in Japan earlier in the season. Six months later, Antonelli not only still leads the world championship but leads it by some distance after going from strength to strength.
After an up-and-down debut season, 2026 Antonelli is more mature and self-assured, and whilst there have still been mistakes, the runaway championship leader is proving why Toto Wolff gambled on him as his Lewis Hamilton replacement. The German believed in Antonelli's talent, consistently backed his young prodigy during difficult periods last year and is now reaping the rewards.
Antonelli has gone from a star of the future to the real deal in a remarkable 12 months that has surprised everyone, but it is no fluke - Antonelli's immense pace and raw talent were obvious from his karting days.
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Antonelli's speed was striking from early on
It was evident from the start of Antonelli's motorsport journey that he was talented. He started karting at five and was winning races in whichever category he ended up in. His dad, Marco Antonelli, realised his son had something unique when, at just 10, Kimi controlled the steering wheel of a Lamborghini around the Adria circuit in north-east Italy and his Dad controlled the gears and the brakes.
"I couldn't see the track because he was in front of me with a helmet on. I could only see beside me the marker panels before each corner - 100m, 50m", Marco told BBC Sport in August.
"We started to drive, step by step, faster, faster, faster. In the end, I pushed like I was alone and I arrived at the braking point at the end of the straight, 320km/h, braked very hard and at the limit.
"The car had a lot of oversteer. Kimi controlled the oversteer perfectly, then I went on the throttle, Kimi finished the oversteer, changed gear, and went.
"I said: 'OK, stop, because it has now become dangerous.' But when I saw the video, 10 years old, on my leg, oversteer, everything perfect, I said: 'Maybe he has something special.'"
Antonelli replaces Hamilton at Mercedes
After proving to be too good for karting by the end of 2021, Antonelli started racing in cars by 2022 and went on to dominate similarly in Formula 4 and later Formula 3. Nothing seemed to faze this teenage sensation - a trait we are seeing in real time this season as he takes on the best drivers in the world and makes it look routine.
Toto Wolff was quick to sign him to Mercedes academy, and after impressing in his F2 debut season, the German was convinced Antonelli was ready for a fast-tracked jump into the big time. Replacing a legend like Hamilton as an 18-year-old with only a year of F2 experience under his belt would have been overwhelming for most young drivers.
And perhaps to begin with, the pressure of trying to live up to one of the greatest of all time weighed a little heavily on Antonelli's shoulders. But even in a challenging 2025 season, there was more than enough evidence of what Wolff saw in the speedy Italian. Antonelli secured back-to-back podium finishes at Sao Paulo and Las Vegas late in his debut season for an encouraging end to 2025.
Mercedes build rocket-ship
But heading into 2026, Antonelli, alongside the rest of the grid, faced the uncertainty of new regulations. The cars would have equal power, bigger batteries and sustainable fuel - they also would look a lot different. Yet it quickly became clear that 2026 would be a good year for Mercedes and an opportunity for the young Antonelli.
By the time the first free Practice was over in Australia, what many already feared was true: Toto Wolff had built a rocket ship reminiscent of Mercedes' 2014 car that would go on to dominate the sport.
At the start of the season, all the pressure was on Mercedes' number one driver, George Russell, and rightly so, given Russell was matching Hamilton by the end of Lewis' time at the Silver Arrows. Russell had long been touted as a future world champion and the thought was that he would have a great chance as soon as Wolff provided him with the fastest car on the grid.
Russell began the season as predicted by winning the Australian Grand Prix ahead of his teammate Antonelli. But astonishingly, that would prove to be Russell's only win until Austria in June, whilst his teammate won five races in a row after Australia to race into a commanding lead of the world championship.
Antonelli's 2026 one of 'the biggest surprises' of Wolff's career
Russell has been let down at times by reliability issues with his car, but even on those weekends, Antonelli was often the quicker driver, and the young Italian has consistently out-qualified his teammate.
The consensus is that Russell has underperformed and should be more competitive; Antonelli has been immense, and even a confident Russell might struggle to match the Italian's pace.
And if you have been caught off guard by Antonelli's rapid rise to the top of Formula 1, you are not alone - even Mercedes' Team Principal can't quite believe it.
“I think the great ones, they know,” Wolff explained. “You say it needs one to know one. And I think that when you listen to Lewis or to Max last year, they already said that he has the potential.
“And that's what we felt in the team too, looking at his previous records in karting and the junior formulas.
“Nevertheless, to come out after the winter and just nailing it pretty much every single race is one of the big surprises in my professional racing career.”
Antonelli heads to his home Grand Prix with the news that he will start from the back of the grid after Mercedes took a major grid penalty.
But writing off this Italian superstar has already proven to be a naive mistake in his short time in Formula 1. It won't be easy and he will have to work his way through a lot of traffic, but if anyone can produce the impossible in 2026, it is Antonelli. Don't be surprised if he extends his championship lead on Sunday afternoon rather than lose ground to his rivals.
Antonelli has been a world champion in the making since the early signs his Dad saw in that Lamborghini a decade ago and a win against all odds at his home race this weekend would move him within touching distance of making it a reality.
