Andrea Kimi Antonelli Becomes the Youngest Formula 1 Driver to Lead a Grand Prix: How It Happened

The 18-year-old Italian broke Max Verstappen's record.

Formula 1 rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli of the Mercedes team broke three championship records at once in a single race. One of them: youngest driver to lead the pack. This happened during the third round of the 2025/26 season, the Japanese Grand Prix, held April 6 at Suzuka.

What Records Kimi Antonelli Has Set in His First Three Formula 1 Rounds

• The 18-year-old Italian became the third-youngest driver in the series' history. Only Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll entered Formula 1 younger than him (17 years, 5 months, and 13 days, and 18 years, 4 months, and 25 days, respectively).

• Before the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, four-time champion Max Verstappen held the title of youngest driver to lead the pack. The Dutchman first became a race leader at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. At the time, the future champion was 18 years and 228 days old. Antonelli, meanwhile, first led the pack at 18 years and 224 days — four days younger than Verstappen was when he set the record.

• At the same time, Antonelli couldn't break another of Verstappen's records — becoming the youngest Grand Prix winner. For that, Kimi would have needed to win one of the first three races.

• The Italian also became the youngest 'holder' of the race's fastest lap, which also set a new record for Suzuka — 1:30.965 minutes.

As a result, in a single round, the Formula 1 rookie broke three records: youngest race leader (the previous record belonged to Max Verstappen), youngest 'holder' of the fastest lap (previously Max Verstappen, in Brazil in 2016), and the Suzuka track record (previously Lewis Hamilton, in 2019).

As of the Japanese Grand Prix, the Italian sits fifth in the drivers' standings with 30 points — the best result among this season's rookies.

Who Is Andrea Kimi Antonelli

• Andrea Kimi Antonelli is an 18-year-old Italian racer for the Mercedes Formula 1 team. The young driver replaced seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who moved to Ferrari for the 2025/26 season.
• Kimi chose number 12 as his own, which previously belonged to his idol, Ayrton Senna, three-time Formula 1 champion.
• Antonelli got his driver's licence later than his racing super licence.