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Despite driving an F1 car, Kimi Antonelli cannot drive his personal Mercedes in Italy due to licensing restrictions and the car’s high power The 2025 Formula 1 (F1) season has brought a breath of fresh air to the grid, with six rookies among the 20 drivers making their debut in the top tier of motorsport. Among them, one name stands out: 18-year-old Italian driver Kimi Antonelli. Antonelli, over 300 km/h in F1, but restricted in Italy Kimi has delivered impressive performances for Mercedes, finishing in the points in three of the four races held so far. He currently sits seventh in the Drivers’ Standings with 30 points, ahead of experienced names like Lewis Hamilton, Alexander Albon, and Esteban Ocon. Along with his teammate George Russell, he has helped Mercedes secure second place in the Constructors’ Championship. However, despite all this, in his home country of Italy, Antonelli is not allowed to drive his brand-new Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Coupé, a gift from the team for his outstanding performances. While Antonelli does hold a valid driver’s license, the issue lies in his age and the car itself. According to Italian laws, newly licensed drivers are prohibited from operating high-powered vehicles. Considering Antonelli’s car boasts 585 horsepower, can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds, and has a top speed of 317 km/h, it far exceeds the limits imposed by Italian regulations.  You may be interested in: McLaren, Red Bull’s unexpected enemy Kimi could find a loophole Legally, Antonelli would not be allowed to drive his new car in Italy until 2028. However, since his driver’s license is issued by San Marino, a microstate within Italian territory, Kimi could potentially bypass this restriction. Because his documentation is not issued by the Italian government, the national laws do not apply to him in the same way. This represents a loophole in Italy’s legal system, allowing Antonelli to technically circumvent the law, although he would still need to wait another three years to drive his Mercedes freely in Italy without any legal concerns. Cover photo: X (@F1KimiAntonelli)

With three drivers battling at the top of the standings, F1 Academy is ready for its second round at the Saudi Arabian GP This weekend will be packed with Formula 1 (F1) action for all fans, as alongside the premier class of motorsport at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (GP), we will also have the second round of the F1 Academy, a series aimed at promoting the development of female drivers. The Jeddah Corniche Circuit will host some of the best young talents looking to make the leap to F1. A battle among three drivers Undoubtedly, the drivers to watch in Saudi Arabia will be Doriane Pin from Mercedes, Maya Weug from Ferrari, and Chloe Chambers from Red Bull, who currently lead the standings after two races at the Chinese GP. While in the first race, newcomer Alisha Palmowski surprised everyone by taking the victory, Chambers secured second place, Weug finished third, and Pin came in fourth. In the second race, Doriane dominated the Shanghai Circuit, claiming first place, Maya finished second, and Chloe rounded out the Top 3, setting up a fierce competition among these three drivers for the event in Saudi Arabia. F1 Academy schedule This series will serve as the opener for all F1 activities, running ahead of the main event from practice sessions through to the main race on Sunday. Starting with free practice, sessions will kick off on Friday at 5:05 a.m., while qualifying will take place at 12:30 p.m., all times in Central Mexico Time. On Saturday, the first race will start at 6:20 a.m., and for Sunday, the final race in Jeddah will be held at 6:05 a.m., once again according to Central Mexico Time. Cover photo: X (@f1academy)

With four races completed in F1, McLaren positions itself to win it all, putting Red Bull and Max Verstappen—who had dominated in recent years—on the ropes With the first rounds of the 2025 Formula 1 (F1) season underway, a team has emerged that just two years ago was not even considered a contender for the Constructors’ Championship, let alone the Drivers’ Championship. Now, the power of McLaren is undeniable; with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix just around the corner, the papaya team dominates the highest tier of motorsport. The decline of the energy drink giant’s hegemony After securing the Constructors’ Championships in 2022 and 2023, along with Max Verstappen’s four consecutive titles since 2021, it seemed the third decade of the 2000s would belong completely to the energy drink team, echoing Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton’s domination in the 2010s. However, internal issues within the Austrian team, frequent mistakes from the pit crew, and Red Bull’s inability to establish a solid two-driver lineup—struggling to find a teammate for Max who could drive a car designed for Verstappen, win like Verstappen, but not be Verstappen—have led to Red Bull losing the Constructors’ Championship to McLaren last year. Now, they find themselves chasing the British squad. McLaren’s resurgence after 26 years Until the 2024 Constructors’ Championship, McLaren had gone 26 years without winning a title of this kind. And since 2008, when Sir Lewis Hamilton won the Drivers’ Championship with the team, the British outfit had not seen a championship-winning driver among its ranks. However, McLaren now appears to have a clear goal: to crown one of its drivers in 2025. Thanks to significant upgrades to their car in 2024—which propelled their drivers into top positions and earned them the Constructors’ title—Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are now sitting first and second in the Drivers’ Standings, with the Briton leading at 77 points, the Australian close behind with 74, and the reigning four-time world champion, Max Verstappen, in third with 69 points. OP 🤝 LN Three double podium finishes this season for our papaya duo 🧡#McLaren | #BahrainGP 🇧🇭 pic.twitter.com/kC0eDsaayL — McLaren (@McLarenF1) April 14, 2025 An intense battle lies ahead this season Although there is still a long way to go in 2025, the battle between these two teams promises to be intense. Red Bull will need to step up, especially considering that in the Constructors’ Standings, McLaren holds a commanding lead with 151 points, while Red Bull is not even their closest rival—Mercedes sits second with 93 points, leaving Red Bull in third with 71 points. Cover photo: X (@McLarenF1)

Oscar Piastri cruises to victory at the Bahrain GP, giving McLaren the outright lead in the Constructors’ Championship and placing Piastri second in the Drivers’ Standings It was a perfect weekend for Oscar Piastri at the Bahrain Grand Prix, as the Australian driver secured his second win of the 2025 Formula 1 (F1) season, converting his pole position into yet another triumph for McLaren, who also solidified their spot as leaders in the Constructors’ Championship. Piastri dominates in Bahrain From the moment the lights went out at the Bahrain International Circuit, the McLaren driver capitalized on his pole position to cling to the lead, never relinquishing it until he crossed the finish line. He finished more than 15 seconds ahead of his closest rival, George Russell, who claimed second place, while Piastri’s teammate, Lando Norris, rounded out the podium in third. With this victory, the Australian overtook Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship, placing himself just three points behind Norris, who remains on top. Meanwhile, in the Constructors’ standings, McLaren has started to pull away, reaching 151 points, with Mercedes in second at 93, and Red Bull third with 71. The rest of the field Behind the Top 3, the Ferrari duo featured Charles Leclerc in fourth and Lewis Hamilton—still driving under the red banner—in fifth. Max Verstappen ended a frustrating race in sixth, on a day where both the Dutchman and his pit crew seemed out of sync. Completing the Top 10, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Yuki Tsunoda, and Ollie Bearman secured points. Kimi Antonelli finished 11th, Alex Albon was 12th, Isack Hadjar 13th, Jack Doohan 14th, and Fernando Alonso crossed the line in 15th. In the final positions, Liam Lawson ended 16th, Lance Stroll 17th, and Gabriel Bortoleto 18th. Carlos Sainz did not finish the race, and Nico Hülkenberg, who originally ended in 13th, was disqualified after post-race inspection revealed an irregularity in his car. Cover photo: X (@F1)

In FP1 of Bahrain, six rookies got behind the wheel of F1 cars, in a session where Lando Norris set the fastest lap time. The excitement of Round 4 of the 2025 Formula 1 (F1) season kicked off with Free Practice 1 at the Bahrain Grand Prix (GP). This session was notable for a special reason, as six rookies had the opportunity to drive the top-tier single-seaters at the Bahrain International Circuit. In compliance with the F1 regulation requiring each team to field a rookie driver in at least four practice sessions throughout the season, FP1 in Bahrain saw Williams, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Haas, Mercedes-Benz, and Red Bull each selecting one of their young prospects. From Williams, Luke Browning was the driver chosen for this FP1 session, finishing in 13th place; Dino Beganovic, representing Ferrari, finished just behind the Williams. For Aston Martin, Felipe Drugovich concluded the session in 16th. Ryo Hirakawa, who had previously participated in a practice session in Japan driving an Alpine, ended this outing in 17th, this time at the wheel of a Haas. Rounding out the rookie field, Frederik Vesti drove for Mercedes and placed 18th, while Ayumu Iwasa replaced Max Verstappen in the Red Bull but finished in the penultimate spot during this first Free Practice. Lando Norris clocks the fastest lap Crowning this unique FP1 session was Lando Norris in his McLaren, who set the benchmark with a lap time of 1:33.204. Pierre Gasly took second place, although still far off Norris’ time, trailing by 0.238 seconds. Lewis Hamilton completed the Top 3, though the seven-time F1 world champion never seemed fully comfortable with his car, voicing multiple complaints to his team throughout the session. Our top three in first practice 🥇 Norris 🥈 Gasly 🥉 Hamilton#F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/rEaTMlKTR9 — Formula 1 (@F1) April 11, 2025 Cover photo: formula1.com