Kimi Antonelli is 20: Dad Marco Antonelli recalls the early days

Happy birthday, Kimi Antonelli – the Formula 1 World Championship leader from Bologna has turned 20. His dad, Marco Antonelli – Kimi’s constant companion at racetracks around the world – sat down with our colleague Giulia Toninelli from *La Gazzetta dello Sport* to reminisce about some of Kimi’s childhood experiences, starting with a scene from when his son was still a baby.

“We were at the Sarno circuit in 2007. Kimi had just turned one, and we’d taken him along to this event, which was organised by a company specialising in road cars, racing cars and go-karts.”

“There were lots of guests there, and I remember that at one point, during a break, I got behind the wheel of a go-kart and put him on my lap. At that age, children are usually frightened by the noise, but at the end of the lap, Veronica, his mum, lifted him out of the kart, and Kimi immediately started crying because he didn’t want to take his little hands off the steering wheel.”

“Another time, when he was ten years old and still sitting on my lap, we did a few laps of the race track in Adria in a Lamborghini Super Trofeo. I braked and accelerated, whilst he changed gear. At one point we were working together perfectly, driving quite fast, and went into oversteer at the first braking point on the track: he brought it under control perfectly, as if he’d done it dozens of times before. That’s when I realised just how talented he was.”

But Formula 1 was a long way off back then, as Marco Antonelli points out: “We never regarded the top flight as a goal that had to be achieved at any cost. Motorsport has always been part of our everyday life as a family, so Kimi started racing with the same attitude with which we run our team.”

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“Then came Formula 1, thanks to the talent Kimi demonstrated, but also thanks to a bit of luck that Mercedes believed in him. However, we never even entertained the idea of getting to where we are now – you just have to bear in mind that my son’s dream as a child wasn’t to drive in Formula 1, but in the DTM!”

And now, at the age of 20, Kimi is the Formula 1 championship leader. Marco Antonelli plays it down: “We’re not thinking about the title. We’re working just as we always have: we’re focusing on one race at a time and trying to maximise the results when we can’t win.”

Marco’s wishes for his son: “First and foremost, good health – something we far too often take for granted. A few days ago, we said goodbye to a young racing driver who was only 39 years old (Cedric Sbirrazzuoli, ed.) and who fell victim to an illness; he had also driven for my team in the past, and events like this put our priorities back in the right order. I also hope that Kimi stays just as he is – kind and generous – and that he can do what he loves for as long as possible.”

How will you be celebrating today? Marco Antonelli: “I’m in Imola for a test with my team, and Kimi will be with his friends, but in the evening we’ll get together for a family dinner. After that, though, it’s time to turn our focus to Monza – there’s still plenty to do.”