F1 star Kimi Antonelli drove a Lamborghini at 200mph when he was 10 and his dad knew he was 'special'

Kimi Antonelli

F1 star Kimi Antonelli drove Lamborghini at 200mph when he was 10 and his dad knew he was 'special'

An incredible story

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Thursday 20 August 2026 20:00

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Mercedes F1 star Kimi Antonelli has shown us all just what a special talent he is so far in 2026. His father, however, knew much earlier.

Marco Antonelli, a former racing driver himself in GT cars, knows a thing or two about what it takes to compete at the top levels of motorsport, and says that he first saw something special in Kimi when he got behind the wheel of a Lamborghini at just 10 years old.

Of course, at that age, Kimi wasn't alone. Marco was controlling the throttle and the brakes, but Kimi was in charge of the steering and gears.

Article continues under video

Kimi Antonelli drove Lamborghini at 200mph

Recalling the story in an interview with BBC Sport, Marco said: "I couldn't see the track because he [Kimi] was in front of me with a helmet on. I could only see beside me the marker panels before each corner - 100m, 50m.

"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 [198.84mph], 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: 'Okay, 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 on track to become F1's youngest world champion

The remarkable Kimi Antonelli story emerged ahead of this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix, where the 19-year-old Italian driver enters the second half of the season as the hot title favourite.

Antonelli currently holds a healthy 50-point lead over his closest competitor, seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, and is 59 clear of his Mercedes teammate George Russell.

In the first half of the season, Antonelli already has six grands prix victories to his name, and with 12 further races currently scheduled to come, he is very likely to add to that tally over the next few months, with Mercedes continuing to have the best car and power unit in the sport.

F1's youngest world champion to date was Sebastian Vettel at 23 years and 134 days old back in 2010, but Antonelli, who only turns 20 on August 25th, is on track to smash that if he remains on top this season.

For now, all eyes are on Zandvoort, but over the next few months, we could be seeing history in the making.

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