It\u2019s golden hour over Miami\u2019s Design District, and Kimi Antonelli\u2014the 19-year-old Italian driver currently atop the Formula 1 leaderboard\u2014steps out of a Sprinter van into the half-light. Some of the people around us seem to have stumbled upon this moment accidentally (I hear a woman behind me say, \u201cI should really start paying attention to F1\u201d); others are waiting with phones and uncapped Sharpies for autographs at the ready.<\/p>\n
Antonelli is here for a panel discussion with the watch specialists IWC Schaffhausen, a sponsor of his legendary team, Mercedes-AMG Petronas, and time is tight\u2014or, rather, planned down to the minute, because this is F1\u2014so he makes the selfie stop quite brief before he\u2019s shepherded into IWC\u2019s boutique by security.<\/p>\n
Antonelli is at the edge of a new wave\u2014and a new generation\u2014in Formula 1\u2019s rapid recent evolution. In this rising cohort: 20-year-old Ollie Bearman, 21-year-old Isack Hadjar, 21-year-old Gabriel Bortoleto, and 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad. Antonelli, though, has been emerging as this vanguard\u2019s shining star. Earlier this year, in Shanghai, he became the youngest Grand Prix winner in Formula 1 history\u2014and the fact that he\u2019s sitting in the pole position early in the season speaks for itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, wow, yeah, it\u2019s great to think about that,\u201d he says, out on the boutique\u2019s sun-drenched balcony. \u201cBut there\u2019s still so much ahead, not behind. The main goal is to be successful in motor sport until the day I cannot race anymore. And I hope this is in many, many, many<\/em> years.\u201d<\/p>\n Antonelli celebrating his win in Shanghai in March.<\/p>\n <\/span>Photo: NurPhoto\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n And of turning 20\u2014you know, that big milestone\u2014later this<\/em> year? \u201cTwenty, already\u2026\u201d he says with a faint smile. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n Antonelli cuts a slight figure, even by F1\u2019s fairly petite standard. He wears a cord necklace, fastened tight as a choker, with a silver whale tail charm. \u201cI got this seven or eight years ago, when we were on vacation as a family in Sardinia. My mom bought it for me and I\u2019ve been wearing it ever since. In Italy, they say the tail of a whale brings good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n Like so many F1 drivers, Antonelli is obsessed with everything and anything automotive and competitive. He started karting at the age of seven, showing early prowess. In 2019, Mercedes-AMG signed him as a junior driver at the age of just 12, and he steadily worked his way up, making his F1 debut last year, replacing none other than Lewis Hamilton<\/a> (who moved to Scuderia Ferrari).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n