Cover Kimi Antonelli celebrates his record-breaking victory at the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix, becoming the youngest winner in the race’s history (Photo: Luca Martini/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)
Kimi Antonelli celebrates his record-breaking victory at the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix, becoming the youngest winner in the race’s history (Photo: Luca Martini/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)
1 / 1
He just won the Monaco Grand Prix at 19. Here’s everything you need to know about Kimi Antonelli—the teenage sensation rewriting Formula 1 history in real time
Formula 1 has a new prince of Monaco, and he’s only 19 years old. On June 7, Andrea Kimi Antonelli stormed to a commanding victory at the Monaco Grand Prix—his fifth consecutive win of the season—extending his championship lead to 66 points and underlining a breakthrough year that has already rewritten expectations. In the process, he set a new benchmark at one of the sport’s most demanding circuits, finishing ahead of Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion who has long been synonymous with Monaco success. Here’s what you need to know about the teenager reshaping the sport’s hierarchy.
In case you missed it: FIFA heartthrobs: 13 football players fans can’t stop watching
Kimi Antonelli just shattered Lewis Hamilton’s 18-year Monaco GP record
At just 19, Kimi Antonelli claimed a historic Grand Slam victory at the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix, leading every single lap from pole position while also recording the fastest lap. The record he toppled had stood for 18 years, set by Lewis Hamilton in 2008, when he was 23 years old and won in Monaco. In a delicious twist of fate, it was Hamilton himself who crossed the line in second place.
The truth behind his ‘Kimi’ name is a massive F1 paddock mystery
While F1 fans are convinced he was named after 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen, his family officially claims his middle name was suggested by a family friend simply because it sounded nice. Paddock rumours, however, persist that his uncle—a devoted Räikkönen fan—was the one who originally gifted him the nickname. Whether intentional tribute or happy coincidence, the name has taken on an entirely new meaning.
Even the ‘original’ Kimi has weighed in on the hype
In a rare interview with Italian journalist Leo Turrini, the notoriously private Kimi Räikkönen admitted he follows Antonelli’s career with genuine sympathy, finds the shared name more amusing than meaningful and has no doubt the teenager possesses exceptional talent. Coming from a man who spent his entire F1 career saying as little as possible, the endorsement carries more weight than a lengthy speech from anyone else in the paddock.
Kimi Antonelli bypassed Formula 3 completely to become F1’s youngest pole-sitter
Fast-tracked directly from the Formula Regional European Championship to Formula 2, Kimi Antonelli’s rise through the junior ranks was spectacularly steep. He became the youngest-ever pole-sitter in Formula 1 history at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, doing so at just 19 years old, breaking a record previously held by Sebastian Vettel. It was a statement that announced, loudly and clearly, that he was no ordinary rookie.
Don’t miss: Brand new Knicks fan? Here are 8 books to read to get in on the lore
He survived a horrific leg fracture to become ‘Rookie of the Year’
At just 14 years old, Kimi Antonelli suffered a severe crash at the 2020 OK World Championship in Portimão, breaking his left tibia and metatarsus. The injuries were serious enough to have ended lesser careers before they began. Instead, Antonelli returned with extraordinary grit to dominate junior single-seaters, ultimately earning the F1 Rookie of the Year award in his debut 2025 season and laying the foundation for his sensational 2026 championship charge.
Kimi Antonelli drives with a race number F1 has barely seen in a decade
Kimi Antonelli chose number 12 as his permanent F1 race number, the same number he carried during his dominant 2023 FRECA championship-winning campaign. It was a deliberate act of continuity from a driver who clearly values where he came from. Before Antonelli, the number 12 had only appeared on the F1 grid during Felipe Nasr’s two seasons with Sauber in 2015 and 2016, making it one of the sport’s most underused digits.
NOW READ
The Tatler Padel Series 2026: inside Asia’s definitive new sporting circuit
FIFA World Cup 2026 travel guide: Toronto
Read like Wemby: what Victor Wembenyama reads, from sci-fi to dark fantasy
Topics
After more than a decade in lifestyle media, Clifford has mastered the art of writing seriously about things that are fun—and writing fun things about people who take themselves very seriously. At Tatler Asia, he helped steer its flagship lists, Tatler’s Most Influential and Asia’s Most Stylish. And today, he leads T-Labs, Tatler Asia’s content innovation hub, where he continues the noble pursuit of lifestyle storytelling, spinning stories on wealth, entertainment, necessary style, Hallyu, Hollywood, beauty and more for audiences across Asia.
