Who Is Marco Antonelli – Kimi Antonelli’s Father & Owner of Antonelli Motorsport?

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the 17-year-old Italian, has made quite the name for himself in the Formula world. Being only 17, he has already been touted to be the next Max Verstappen of the sport. The attention he’s getting is a result of multiple factors, including his exceptional record in the karting and the lower Formula 4 and Formula Regional Championships, and the unconventional management approach of his team, Mercedes. When asked recently about why Kimi decided to become a racing driver, he credited his father, Marco Antonelli, for the inspiration behind getting into motorsport.

He said, “I mean I’m a racing driver because, first of all, I got the passion from my dad and then it’s just because I love competing and I love the winning feeling, and yeah and it’s also a great feeling to drive a racing car.” However, Marco Antonelli, the owner of Antonelli Motorsports, is not nearly as well known as Max Veratappen’s father, Jos. This article aims to change that.

Who is the father of Kimi Antonelli?

Born on July 18, 1964, in Bologna, Italy, Marco Antonelli is an Italian racing driver. His journey into the world of motorsport started in 1986 when he entered the races in the tourism classes, specifically the Super Touring and DTM, as he worked with the Alfa Romeo test team.

Throughout his racing career, Marco Antonelli has competed in multiple series and championships. Starting from the Italian Superturismo Championship in the early 1990s with teams like AB Motorsport and Tecnica Racing Team. He truly has had a varied trajectory in his racing career. He later entered international competitions, such as the European Touring Car Championship in 2002 with AGS Motorsport and the GT4 European Cup in 2010 with StarCars.

In 2014, Marco Antonelli tasted success in the Italian Formula ACI-CSAI Abarth Championship with the team, Best Lap, securing a notable fourth position in the standings. Subsequently, he continued to compete in events like the International GT Open and Lamborghini Super Trofeo, where he achieved his career-best championship standing of 2nd, winning 3 out of the 6 races and securing 4 podium positions overall. This time, his achievement came with his own team, Antonelli Motorsports.

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While Marco Antonelli has a career that can be best described as, for the lack of a better word, average, his racing team, on the other hand, has seen quite a bit of success.

Marco Antonelli is the owner of AKM/Antonelli Motorsport

Marco Antonelli established his racing team, Antonelli Motorsport in 1993, setting up its base in San Marino. Although the team’s participation in races was limited in its initial years, they have achieved significant success over the years. These include winning the Italian GT Championship in 2018, the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia in 2015, 2014, and 2008, the Lamborghini SuperTrofeo (Pro-Am) in 2015, the Italian GT Cup in 2014 and 2012, the Giro d’Italia in 2011, the Italian Alfa Challenge 147 Cup in 2002, and the Italian Tourism Championship twice in 1999 and 2002.

The team has also emerged victorious in the Italian Team category, in collaboration with AB Motorsport, during the 1997 and 1998 seasons. In recent years, Marco Antonelli announced his plans to step into the world of karting, and that’s how AKM Motorsport was established in 2020, a collaboration between Antonelli Motorsport led by Marco Antonelli and the Kart Republic, led by Dino Chiesa.

While AKM Motorsport primarily competes in the Italian Formula 4 championship, it has also participated in the F4 United Arab Emirates series. The expansion into karting will mean the team’s involvement in various categories, ranging from Mini to KZ (shifter karts), with a focus on both the Italian championship and WSK-run events. Thomas Mardaga stepped into the role of technical director for AKM’s karting team overseeing its initial entries into OK Junior, Mini, and the newly introduced OK-N kart category in the Italian Karting Championship.

Marco’s son, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, will serve as the coach for AKM Motorsport’s karting undertakings, while also actively overseeing the testing of the OK-N and OK-J chassis. There’s no one better than Kimi to serve this role as he won almost everything there is to win in the world of karting championships, including multiple runner-ups and 3rd-place standings as well.

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Though Marco himself never found a ton of success in his racing career, his son, Kimi is creating a wave in the Formula world that has only been seen with the likes of generational talent like Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.