Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli passes his driving test weeks before making his Formula 1 debut

  • Mercedes F1 driver, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, passed his driving test
  • He turned 18 in August and will debut at the Australian Grand Prix
  • It’s sparked a conversation about the age of drivers

 

Published on Jan 29, 2025 at 4:57 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones

Last updated on Jan 30, 2025 at 9:38 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by Tom Wood

Italian Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli has just passed his driving test at the age of 18, despite already securing a drive for the next racing season.

The youngster will replace Lewis Hamilton and partner George Russell for the upcoming 2025 season.

He was able to throw away his L plates just six weeks before his Formula 1 debut at the Australian Grand Prix.

He’s in for a lot more pressure than parallel parking, that’s for sure.

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Mercedes congratulates him on his driving test

Antonelli certainly wasn’t waiting around and, having turned 18 in August 2024, he passed his driving test.

That’s the minimum age to drive on roads in Italy.

Mercedes celebrated the milestone on social media yesterday.

“Mission completed,” the post said.

It was accompanied by ticks for both his driving licence and the so-called super-licence he requires to race.

It also features a photograph of a smiling Antonelli giving a thumbs up in a driving school car.

Everything we know about F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli

The son of famous Italian racing driver and motorsport executive, Marco Antonelli, Kimi is not as green as his recent achievement suggests, however.

While driving students are known to make some dangerous mistakes, he has already completed thousands of miles in Formula 1 testing ahead of his debut which he didn’t need a license for.

Bizarre, considering some supercars like the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra require proof of a driver’s license ahead of purchase.

Following Hamilton’s success at the team before moving to Ferrari, Antonelli has some big shoes to fill.

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He’ll get up and running by taking part in pre-season testing in Bahrain from 26-28 February.

As if that weren’t enough for a newbie driver, his first race will be the Australian Grand Prix in March 2025.

His achievement has divided opinion on drivers getting younger and younger, however.

“Getting a super license before a regular license should be illegal, it encourages reckless driving and endangers other drivers,” one comment said.

“At least now we know he knows his way around a car!” a second said.

If he can pilot a Formula 1 car, it’s likely that he can navigate the roads of most countries with ease.

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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”