One of the most hyped talents on the F1 grid, Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s name has always been a subject of intrigue, particularly because he’s been referred to by several different names.
Well, the Mercedes driver’s actual name is Andrea Antonelli, with Kimi just being his middle name. For a long time, many in the F1 community felt that it was inspired by former Ferrari world champion Kimi Raikkonen, but it turned out to be false speculation.
In reality, his mom Veronica and dad Marco simply wanted to give him a foreign middle name. But they weren’t sure what. A family friend, however, came to the rescue.
“In the end, Enrico Bertaggia, a friend of ours, came along and suggested Kimi because it went well with the first name and the last name. That’s how the name Andrea Kimi Antonelli was born,” he said earlier this year.
Regardless, the name Andrea is often discarded with most calling him by his middle name, Kimi. His family, on the other hand, refers to him by not one, not two, but three different names! Just 18 years old, Antonelli is only beginning to make his mark in the pinnacle of motorsport.
For that reason, his family has been by his side at races more often than is typical for most other drivers in the paddock. Kym Illman met up with his mother, father, and sister Maggie last weekend in Suzuka, which is where the veteran photographer got an idea of Antonelli’s nickname.
“Interestingly, his mum calls Kimi Andrea, dad calls Kimi Kimi, and Maggie calls Kimi Andy,” Illman revealed in his YouTube video.
Kimi and Andrea, of course, are known names. But Andy, which is his sister’s choice, is not that well known. Thankfully for Maggie and the rest of the family, Andy put up a show in Japan, which made their visit memorable.
It was the Italian driver’s third consecutive points finish in as many races, as he came home in P6, right behind teammate George Russell. At one point, he even led the Japanese GP, which made him the youngest race leader in F1 ever.
Youngest race leader wasn’t the only F1 record Kimi broke during the Japanese GP
He’s also the youngest ever driver to score fastest lap, too pic.twitter.com/YWy5xByjJ8
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 6, 2025
For now, the Mercedes car doesn’t seem strong enough to fight for podiums, but when it is, Antonelli’s performances suggest he’ll be right up there.
