Karting (2014–2021) 2014–2017: Career beginnings and international debut Antonelli started
kart racing at the age of seven and won championships in several categories of the discipline. After attending a
summer camp with the
Automobile Club d'Italia in 2014, Antonelli was
scouted by Giovanni Minardi—the son of
Giancarlo—who signed him to
Minardi Management. progressing to win the Easykart International Grand Final that year from twenty-second on the
grid; he also placed thirty-first in the
WSK Final Cup in 60 Mini. Antonelli entered several
major competitions in 2016, achieving top-three finishes in the Italian Cup and Trofeo delle Industrie, as well as the
WSK Super Master Series in 2017. He won the third round of the
Italian Championship that year at
Battipaglia.
2018–2019: International success as a Mercedes Junior Signing to the
Mercedes Junior Team in 2018, Antonelli won the
WSK Champions Cup, South Garda Winter Cup, and ROK Cup International Final in the Mini class that year, as well as finishing runner-up in the Italian Championship. Antonelli progressed to
OK-Junior—the premier under-15 international
direct-drive karting
category—in 2019, winning the South Garda Winter Cup, WSK Super Master Series,
WSK Euro Series, WSK Open Cup, and
WSK Final Cup, all with
Rosberg Racing Academy. He entered his first
European and
World Championships that year, finishing runner-up to
Marcus Amand at the former and fifth at the latter.
2020–2021: Dominance in senior classes In 2020, Antonelli progressed to the senior direct-drive
OK class, aged 13. he won the European Championship on his senior class debut aged 14, all with Kart Republic. Antonelli retired from the final of the World Championship at
Portimão with an injury; he collided with the stationary kart of
Maya Weug in wet-weather conditions, suffering a broken left
tibia and
metatarsus. For his efforts in 2020, Antonelli was named the
FIA Karting Rookie of the Year by the
CIK-FIA. He successfully defended his European Championship in the OK class, dominating the season with five wins from eight rounds, and finished runner-up to
Rafael Câmara at the WSK Champions Cup and WSK Super Master Series. Upon his graduation to
junior formulae,
Vroomkart opined that Antonelli's karting career "already [foretold a] classic anthology of a Champion".
Formula 4 (2021–2022) 2021: Junior formulae debut at the
Red Bull Ring.|alt=Antonelli driving in the 2021 Italian F4 Championship at the Red Bull Ring Three weeks after he turned 15, Antonelli made his
junior formulae debut in the fifth round of the
2021 Italian F4 Championship, driving for
Prema at the
Red Bull Ring. He finished as the highest-placed rookie in his first race and scored four points across the weekend. Antonelli scored further points in the following round at
Mugello, before his breakout weekend in the final event at
Monza. He finished second-place in race one after a race-long battle with champion-elect
Oliver Bearman, and scored additional podiums in races two and three. Antonelli finished tenth in the overall standings after missing the majority of the season, and fourth in the rookies' championship with four wins in the category.
2022: Maiden championships and gold medal In preparation for his primary 2022 campaigns, Antonelli contested select rounds of the
F4 UAE Championship. He finished third after qualifying on pole position for the
non-championship Trophy Round, held in support of the
2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In the main championship, he was originally set to only contest round three with
Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema, Antonelli secured three consecutive on-track victories, demoted to third in the latter following a post-race penalty. Also finishing second in race four, Antonelli led the championship after round one; he did not contest the second round, as planned. in
2022 with a then-record thirteen victories.|alt=Antonelli driving the Tatuus F4-T421 out of the pitlane at Spa-Francorchamps in the 2022 ADAC F4 Championship In
2022, Antonelli remained with Prema in Italian F4, also co-signed by the
Automobile Club d'Italia as a member of
ACI Team Italia by virtue of winning the
Supercorso Federale in November 2021. Antonelli retired from the lead of the season opener at
Imola with a gearbox issue, having started on pole position. He received
front wing damage after clipping a kerb in race two, and was penalised for a collision with teammate
James Wharton in the final race which demoted him from fourth to tenth. His fortunes changed with two wins in the next round at
Misano, followed by six consecutive victories at
Spa-Francorchamps and
Vallelunga which propelled him to lead the standings ahead of
Rafael Câmara. Further wins at the
Red Bull Ring and
Monza consolidated his championship advantage, and he clinched the title by winning the first race at
Mugello. He won the remaining two races of the season, having secured a then-record thirteen victories. title, followed by a
gold medal at the
FIA Motorsport Games.|alt=Antonelli lifting his trophy after winning at Spa-Francorchamps in the 2022 ADAC F4 Championship, between Rafael Câmara and Charlie Wurz In parallel with his Italian F4 programme, Antonelli also competed in the
ADAC Formula 4 Championship with Prema. He seized two victories in the first round at
Spa-Francorchamps, before taking all available wins, pole positions, and fastest laps at the
Hockenheimring. At the third round in
Zandvoort, Antonelli added further consecutive wins in the opening two races before missing out on another clean-sweep by 0.058 seconds in the
reverse-grid final race, finishing second to
Conrad Laursen in a
photo finish. After missing the penultimate event at the
Lausitzring with Prema, Antonelli clinched the championship with one race to spare, having taken victory in the first two races during a rain-affected final round at the
Nürburgring. Following his titles in Italian and ADAC F4, Antonelli represented
Team Italy in the
Formula 4 Cup discipline of the biennial
FIA Motorsport Games at
Paul Ricard. After taking pole position, he won both the qualifying and main races whilst driving with a broken left wrist—owing to a collision near the end of qualifying—to take the
gold medal and secure Italy's victory in the
overall medal table. He subsequently received a grant from chassis manufacturer
KC Motorgroup to support his 2023 campaigns. Following the win, Antonelli stated that he experienced "a lot of pain" and not properly", adding that he had to take
painkillers to continue. Antonelli graduated
F4 with 26 wins, 24 pole positions, and 37 podium finishes in 57 appearances, becoming the second-most successful driver in the history of the discipline.
Formula Regional (2023) Prior to his main 2023 campaign, Antonelli contested the
Formula Regional Middle East Championship with
Mumbai Falcons. He opened the season with a trio of second-placed finishes across the opening two rounds, propelling him to an early championship lead. He consolidated his advantage with his maiden three
Formula Regional wins at the third and fourth rounds in
Kuwait and
Dubai, respectively. Antonelli led title rival
Taylor Barnard of
PHM by 37 points going into the final round at
Yas Marina, where he received a penalty for colliding with Barnard whilst battling for the lead in race one. Antonelli ultimately secured the title with one race to go, and took his seventh podium of the season in the final race. in
his rookie season with
Prema.|alt=Antonelli driving the Tatuus FR-19 at the Red Bull Ring in the 2023 Formula Regional European Championship Antonelli progressed to the
Formula Regional European Championship in
2023, remaining with
Prema alongside
Lorenzo Fluxá, as well as F4 and karting rival
Rafael Câmara. Antonelli later expressed that he was still "lacking a bit of experience", so progression to
FIA Formula 3 was "a bit early for [him]". Prior to the season, Marcus Simmons of
Autosport compared the intrigue surrounding his campaign to the
Formula Three debuts of
Ayrton Senna,
Mika Häkkinen, and
Max Verstappen, whilst Salvo Sardina of
La Gazzetta dello Sport described him as a "predestinato" (). His season started with a second-place on debut at
Imola, repeating this feat in both races at
Barcelona-Catalunya. A
gear selection issue denied his first victory of the season at the
Hungaroring, before finally clinching victory in the second race at
Spa-Francorchamps, which was marred by the fatal accident of
Dilano van 't Hoff. Additional wins from pole position at
Mugello and
Paul Ricard followed for Antonelli, who became the championship leader going into the summer break, ahead of
Martinius Stenshorne. He earned another podium in race two at the
Red Bull Ring following a penalty for Stenshorne, before achieving two on-track victories at
Monza; he was stripped of the win in race one for illegal use of the
push-to-pass system. He later described the win as "one of [his] best races". Antonelli dedicated his title to Van 't Hoff, and was voted driver of the season by the team principals. He ended the season with five wins from 11 podiums and four pole positions, finishing 39 points ahead of Stenshorne and 61 points ahead of
Tim Tramnitz.
Formula Scout ranked Antonelli as the best driver in junior formulae throughout 2023.
FIA Formula 2 (2024) ) progressed to
FIA Formula 2 with
Prema in .|alt=Antonelli qualifying for the 2024 Spielberg Formula 2 round Antonelli bypassed the international
FIA Formula 3 Championship, progressing directly to
FIA Formula 2 in with
Prema, alongside
Ferrari Driver Academy member
Oliver Bearman. Ahead of the season, Antonelli remarked that he not] want to set any expectation " amidst early rumours of his Formula One prospects for . Prema struggled to adapt to
new regulations utilising
ground effect, with Antonelli claiming a single point at the season-opener in
Sakhir after finishing fourteenth in the
sprint race and tenth in the
feature, ahead of Bearman in both races. He secured a pair of sixth-placed finishes the following round in
Jeddah. After qualifying second in
Melbourne, he spun into the gravel whilst making up places in the
reverse-grid sprint, before battling with
Dennis Hauger for the lead of the feature, where he ultimately finished fourth. Antonelli again finished fourth in both the
Imola feature and
Monaco sprint, ending the latter weekend seventh in the feature. After placing outside of the points in
Barcelona and
Spielberg, round.|alt=Antonelli leads the sprint race of the 2024 Silverstone Formula 2 round on "extreme wet" tyres Antonelli qualified tenth at
Silverstone, putting him on pole for the rain-affected sprint. After three
safety cars and a
red flag, Antonelli secured his maiden win and podium in his eighth F2 round. He retired from the feature, following a first-lap collision with
Kush Maini. In
Budapest, a gamble on
option tyres saw him lead the majority of the sprint, but forced him to make an unscheduled
pit stop after a loss of tyre performance. The following day, Antonelli took his first feature race victory after starting seventh on the grid, elevating him to sixth in the standings. He finished sixth in the curtailed
Spa-Francorchamps sprint after an award-winning overtake on
Franco Colapinto into
Eau Rouge, he then received a ten-place grid penalty—for Prema's usage of
dry ice as a
cooling agent—which applied at the
Monza sprint, where he was involved in a multi-car collision. He placed fourth in the feature, following a contentious battle with teammate Bearman. Antonelli missed out on his maiden
pole position by seventeen-thousandths of a second in
Baku, finishing seventh in the sprint and third in the feature, after contact with
Zane Maloney in the latter. He retired from both races in
Lusail, subsequent to a collision with Maini in the sprint and
Richard Verschoor in the feature, the latter released unsafely into his path in the
pit lane. Antonelli withdrew from the season-ending round at
Yas Marina with illness, finishing the season sixth in the standings on 113 points with two victories from three podiums, 38 ahead of teammate Bearman in twelfth. == Formula One career ==