No two rookies in the Class of 2025 would be as familiar with each other as Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman. The two were teammates at Prema Racing in F2 last year, which helped build strong rapport between the two.
And the duo continue to be good friends, even though they now race for different teams in F1.
Highlighting their bond, Antonelli shared a lighthearted anecdote about pranking Bearman’s trainer Paolo. He recalled how, during the Belgian F2 round, they secretly took Paolo’s credit card and went on a shopping spree—without him realizing it.
This was, technically, credit card fraud—something that could easily lead to an arrest if done to a stranger. But to the teenaged drivers —Antonelli is just 18, and Bearman, 19 — it was just a harmless prank. “We went on the internet and started buying random stuff with his card. When we were buying it, I asked, ‘Do you know your trainer’s address?’ and he said yes,” Antonelli revealed on The Fast and the Curious podcast.
At such a young age, it was certainly a bold move—one that also suggested they had a good relationship with the trainer. But what happened to all the things they bought?
Well, Antonelli stated that they were all shipped to Paolo’s house. And upon receiving the goods, he was understandably clueless—and reacted just the way Antonelli and Bearman would have hoped for.
“I remember we were with his trainer and he looked at his phone and he was like, ‘why is like stuff arriving to my house? I didn’t buy this kind of stuff,” the Italian recalled Paolo saying.
Betty Glover, co-host of the podcast, then asked what they had ordered in the first place. Antonelli admitted that it wasn’t anything too expensive. They were considerate in that regard and chose not to spend too much of Paolo’s money.
not kimi admitting on a podcast that he and ollie committed credit card fraud????? pic.twitter.com/cWnBVjaseD
— javi #NukeMaranello (@prancingwhores) April 1, 2025
It was a successful prank. Paolo may have genuinely thought someone had illegally accessed his credit card, which, understandably, would have worried him. But what’s a good prank without making the other person sweat a little?
Glover also referred to Antonelli and Bearman as “troublemakers,” warning that people should stay alert when it comes to these two rookie drivers, given their penchant for pulling off high-level pranks.
Antonelli and Bearman can cause chaos
Ahead of their F1 debuts this year, all five proper rookies—Liam Lawson had taken part in 11 races across 2023 and 2024—had a roundtable interview with F1 TV’s lead presenter Laura Winter. Gabriel Bortoleto, Isack Hadjar, and Jack Doohan joined Antonelli and Bearman in this segment.
However, the “troublemakers” stood out with their humor and their ability to make any conversation hilarious. When Winter asked the group which rookie driver they thought would give them the toughest battle this season, the Mercedes prodigy jokingly answered, “Fernando Alonso!”
While Winter didn’t grasp the joking reference, Bearman was backing his ex-F2 teammate to reiterate the joke of Alonso being a rookie at the age of 43.
Quickfire questions with our 2025 rookies
Laura Winter sits down with Ollie Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Jack Doohan, Isack Hadjar and Kimi Antonelli ahead of the 2025 season ▶️#F1
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 11, 2025
Ahead of Alonso’s return to F1 in 2021, he participated in the 2020 post-season Abu Dhabi test, which was reserved for young drivers. However, Renault (now Alpine) somehow managed to get the Spanish veteran in the car as a ‘young driver’ so he could familiarize himself.
Antonelli and Bearman couldn’t help but laugh about this. In the future, it’s likely that the two will share many more such laughs, filled with inside references that will need explaining—a true sign of a blossoming bromance.
