F1 racer Kimi Antonelli found a ‘loophole’ to drive his Mercedes AMG supercar despite it being illegal
- Kimi Antonelli is the youngest driver in F1 at the moment
- He recently got his driver’s license and received a Mercedes-AMG GT as a company car
- He can drive this car in Italy, but only due to a loophole in the law
Published on Apr 14, 2025 at 11:48 AM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Apr 14, 2025 at 2:17 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
F1 rookie Kimi Antonelli apparently found a loophole that allows him to drive his Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S in Italy.
The 18-year-old F1 star was given a Mercedes-AMG as a company car by Mercedes F1.
The problem is – in theory – he wouldn’t be able to drive this car in Italy due to strict laws concerning new drivers.
But, fortunately for Kimi, he is technically not an ‘Italian’ driver.
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The little loophole Kimi Antonelli will be able to exploit
Antonelli, who’s only 18, replaced Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes F1 but even though he can drive a Formula 1 car, ironically, he wouldn’t be able to drive his much less powerful and extreme Mercedes-AMG GT on the road, were it not for a loophole in the law.
New drivers, according to the law in Italy, are not allowed to drive anything with a power-to-weight ratio over 75kW per ton, and the Mercedes GT 63 S has 430kW per ton.
But Antonelli, who got his driver’s license just a couple of months ahead of his F1 debut, actually registered his license in San Marino, a landlocked state that’s entirely independent despite being geographically part of Italy.
San Marino is the size of a village, and everyone there speaks Italian, but it still counts as a ‘foreign’ country, which means the law in question doesn’t apply to San Marino license holders.
This means that Antonelli will indeed to be able drive his Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S on the road.
The youngest racing driver on the grid
Kimi Antonelli is the youngest F1 driver on the grid, by far, but he isn’t the youngest overall.
In fact, the young Italian star is only the third youngest driver to start a Formula 1 race.
Kimi Antonelli made his F1 debut at the 2025 Australian GP, when he was only 18 years and 202 days of age.
Only Lance Stroll (18 years, 148 days) and Max Verstappen (17 years, 166 days) did better than him.
But there’s something else worth pointing out, because Kimi Antonelli was the youngest driver to actually complete his first race.
He placed fourth in Australia, whereas both Stroll and Verstappen before him had to retire in their debut race.
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