Kimi Antonelli Takes Dramatic Victory at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix, Here's His Profile

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - The 2026 Canadian Grand Prix witnessed a dramatic victory for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a talented young driver from the Mercedes team.

This victory was not only his fourth in a row, but also further solidified his position at the top of the Formula 1 Drivers' Championship standings with a 43-point lead.

The race, which took place on May 24, 2026, was marred by an unexpected incident that significantly changed the course of the competition.

Initially, Antonelli was engaged in a fierce battle with his teammate, George Russell, who was leading the race.

However, a problem in Russell's power unit forced him to out, paving the way for Antonelli to take the top step of the podium.

KIMI ANTONELLI WINS IN MONTREAL!! 👏🏆WHAT A RACE! 🤯#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/IkOkw48KrB

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 24, 2026

The start of the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix immediately presented a fierce duel between Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, who were vying for the lead.

Both drivers put on a superb performance, exchanging positions and nearly touching in an intense toe-to-toe battle over the opening 29 laps.

Russell, who started from pole position after winning the sprint race and taking pole position, fought hard to maintain his lead against Antonelli's relentless pressure.

However, drama inevitably ensued on the 30th lap when George Russell experienced a sudden technical issue with his car.

Following Russell's out, the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was immediately deployed to secure the track, allowing most drivers to pit.

Kimi Antonelli took advantage of this opportunity to pit and emerged with a solid lead over second-placed Max Verstappen, securing victory by a margin of 10.7 seconds.

The 2026 Canadian Grand Prix podium was completed by Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari, who overtook Max Verstappen of Red Bull in the closing laps to take second place.

Verstappen himself finished third, marking his first podium of the season.

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while Franco Colapinto (Alpine), Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) also scored points.

Carlos Sainz (Williams) and Ollie Bearman (Haas) completed the top ten drivers who scored points in the race.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, better known by his middle name Kimi, is an Italian racing driver born in Bologna on August 25, 2006.

Kimi began his racing career at the age of seven, competing in karting for the team owned by his father, Marco Antonelli, a former sports car racer and owner of the AKM Motorsport racing team.

His mother, Veronica Antonelli, also has a background in motorsport since 1997.

Antonelli's junior career was filled with impressive achievements by winning back-to-back senior European championships in 2020 and 2021.

He then moved up to the junior formula categories, where he won the Italian and ADAC F4 titles in 2023 with the Prema team.

In 2023, his dominance continued with victories in the European and Middle East Formula Regional Championships, demonstrating his exceptional ability across various levels of competition.

A member of the Mercedes Junior Team since 2019, Kimi Antonelli made his Formula 1 debut in 2025 with Mercedes.

By the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli had achieved a number of remarkable achievements in Formula 1, cementing his status as one of the most promising talents.

He had won four Formula 1 Grands Prix in his two career seasons, with the Canadian victory marking his fourth consecutive victory.

Furthermore, Antonelli had amassed a total of eight podium finishes in Formula 1, including his first podium finish at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix with a third-place finish.

He had achieved three pole positions, including becoming the youngest polesitter in Formula 1 history at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.

His victory at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix also made him the youngest ever World Drivers' Championship leader in Formula 1 history.

With the driver number 12 inspired by his idol, Ayrton Senna, Kimi Antonelli is under contract with Mercedes until at least the end of the 2026 season, promising a bright future in Formula 1 racing.