Sports
F1 teenager Kimi Antonelli just got his driver’s license — right on time to replace Lewis Hamilton
Andrea Kimi Antonelli was more nervous than he had been for some time. A racing driver’s career can often hinge on sliding doors moments such as these.
The 18-year-old wasn’t trying to secure a Formula One drive. He completed that mission months ago when he signed with Mercedes to replace Lewis Hamilton.
He was about to sit his driving test.
Thirty minutes later, the Italian teenager beamed beneath his mop of curly hair and raised a thumb to the camera. He’d passed — first time, of course. There would be no need to squeeze in another test between the hectic travel demands of the F1 calendar. And the ‘honor’ of being an active F1 driver without a road license — once true of Max Verstappen, who debuted at age 17 — will not apply to Antonelli.
It was an early dose of pressure handled well by the driver who will debut for Mercedes at the Australian Grand Prix on March 16, stepping into the cockpit vacated by Hamilton, a seven-time world champion 21 years Antonelli’s senior.
Antonelli knows he cannot expect to emulate Hamilton’s 12-year run at Mercedes, which yielded six world championships and 84 race wins to become the most successful driver-team partnership in F1 history. But he is taking in all the support he can ahead of his debut season.
“I’m the next Mercedes driver and I’m taking the seat of someone who made history in the sport, so it’s a big privilege,” Antonelli told The Athletic in an interview. “It’s a big responsibility, but I’ve got the right people around me.”
Cars have always been a central part of Antonelli’s life.
His father, Marco, watched how young Kimi played with toy cars and decided to take him go-karting at five.
Kimi instantly fell in love with the sensation of speed. (Antonelli goes by his middle name, which has no connection to the 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen.) Yet Marco, who still races in sportscars with his own GT team, Antonelli Motorsport, which competes across Europe, was initially wary of pursuing it too seriously. He didn’t want Kimi to get hurt in what can be a ruthless world.
“Sometimes motorsport can be cruel,” Antonelli said. “He was afraid that I would have been too hurt from disappointment, so he wanted to avoid that. But seeing that I really loved driving and really loved the sport, he decided to give it a go. He could see, without me really telling him, that I had the passion for motorsport.”
That love was furthered by father-and-son Sundays spent watching F1 races together. While Antonelli would have grown up watching Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, his racing heroes are from much further back. His dad showed him the famous race between Gilles Villeneuve and Rene Arnoux at Dijon in 1979, regarded by many as the greatest on-track battle of all time, which gave him an appreciation of the sport’s history from a young age.
“It was just amazing,” Antonelli said. “You see how different it was, compared to now, the safety, the cars. You also appreciate the way the drivers were still battling on track despite knowing that the cars were not as safe as today. They were still going for it and you really appreciate seeing those battles.”
Villeneuve and Ayrton Senna emerged as Antonelli’s favorite drivers, in part thanks to their tenacious style on the track. “Ayrton is my hero, but Villeneuve, now I understand why my dad was such a big fan of him,” Antonelli said. “He was a lion on the track.”
After first using 12 as his racing number in Formula Four, Antonelli chose it for his F1 debut season as a nod to Senna, who raced with 12 through the first four years of his career, including his first championship season in 1988. By coincidence, Villeneuve also raced with 12 in 1978 and 1979.
While the history lessons Antonelli received as a child furthered his passion off the track, on the track, he quickly excelled, rising up the go-karting ladder. His progress put him on the radar of top talent scouts, among whom was Gwen Lagrue, Mercedes’ junior guru. This led to Antonelli meeting Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff at age 11 before signing to its young driver program at 13.
It was Antonelli’s character as well as his ability that impressed Wolff. By the time he stepped up to single-seaters and continued winning everything he laid his hands upon, including both the Italian and German F4 titles in his first year before the Formula Regional title in 2023, it was clear the teenager had the makings of something special. In the long term, a place in the future Mercedes F1 lineup alongside George Russell has always been in the mind of the team’s management. It was just a matter of timing.
When Hamilton, who many expected would end his career at Mercedes, revealed last January that he would be leaving for Ferrari in 2025, it took Wolff five minutes to decide Antonelli, then just 17, would be the man to replace him.
“We have a great relationship, not only professionally, but also outside of the track,” Antonelli said of Wolff. “He’s a great guy, really supportive during great moments but also during difficult moments. I’m super happy to be with him. He’s been giving me a lot of help.”
Wolff has even entrusted Antonelli with teaching his six-year-old son, Jack, how to go-kart. “He’s not bad, he’s been improving quite a lot,” Antonelli said. “Every test, he was getting better and better. It was nice to see.”
Antonelli leaves his car after crashing during his first practice session, ahead of the Italian Grand Prix in 2024 (Gabriel Bouys / AFP via Getty Images)
The one thing both Wolff and Mercedes have been eager to avoid is putting too much pressure or expectation on Antonelli. A crash just minutes into his first F1 practice outing at Monza, one day before he was announced in the 2025 seat, was brushed off as part of the learning curve. Mercedes doesn’t expect an 18-year-old to replicate what Hamilton achieved.
Debuting for such a high-profile team at such a young age is rare in F1. Typically, young drivers will get their first opportunity further down the grid to learn the ropes and make a name for themselves before proving they are ready for a top seat. Russell spent three years at Williams before getting the Mercedes drive. Red Bull initially placed Verstappen at its sister team, Toro Rosso, before promoting him during his second season.
The one great, successful exception to the rule in recent F1 history is the man Antonelli will replace: Hamilton. He was given a McLaren seat for his debut season in 2007 and came within one point of winning the championship as a rookie. It’s an impossibly high bar, one there is no expectation for Antonelli to meet.
Antonelli’s youth meant his step up to F1 required an extra degree of preparation. Alongside his Formula Two racing commitments last year, he conducted an extensive amount (just under 20 days) of private testing in old cars, with his pace impressing the engineering team. Antonelli was also able to embed himself with the Mercedes engineering crew at races through the second half of the season, getting to know the voices and faces he will lean upon through 2025.
Antonelli feels a responsibility not only toward Mercedes but also toward his native Italy. While the nation has a rich, unparalleled history in motorsport, with Ferrari becoming a de facto national team, it has not produced a world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953 nor a grand prix winner since Giancarlo Fisichella’s last success in 2006 with Renault.
“There’s a lot more hype around, of course, heading into next season,” Antonelli said. “Definitely, you feel a bit of responsibility because you know you’ve got Italy behind you. Everyone expects me to be successful, especially because I’ll be racing a Mercedes.
“But it’s also really exciting. I cannot wait for next year to get started and also I cannot wait for my home race at Imola. I would love to see so many Italians cheering.” The swathes of red for Ferrari that typically cover the grandstands at Imola may well be interspersed with Mercedes’ silver and black this year.
At Imola, Monza and beyond, the adjustment to fame will be hard for Antonelli to truly prepare for until it happens. He’s already getting recognized a lot more. Fans stopped him every few steps as he walked through Milan Malpensa airport last year off his flight from Heathrow; Antonelli graciously paused for selfies each time. He admitted it felt “a bit strange” to begin with, but he knows it’s part of the job. “When you get used to it, it’s normal.”
Antonelli, 18, and Bearman, 19, will join the F1 grid this year. (Joe Portlock / Getty Images)
Normal in F1, yes, but Antonelli is still a teenager — part of F1’s new wave of talent that has transformed the look and dramatically reduced the average age of the grid for 2025. Away from racing, he enjoys playing padel (the hobby of choice for much of the grid) and has already enjoyed some spirited matches with his new teammate, Russell. But he also likes to keep sharp by go-karting or even doing sim racing with his friends.
An endearing element of Antonelli’s rise last year was his friendship with his F2 teammate Ollie Bearman, who will also graduate to F1 this year with Haas. Both racing for Prema, they made several fun social media videos together and struck up a good relationship away from the track. It’s something Antonelli hopes can be of help to them both as they make the leap to F1.
“He’s a great guy, he’s quick,” Antonelli said of Bearman. “I’ve learned a lot from him. I’m happy to be sharing the grid with him next year. Because we’re going to be new next year, especially at the start, just the fact we’ve known each other and we’ve been racing together, it will help.”
When it comes to handling the leap up to F1, Antonelli will look to all the support he can get. While he will be one of six full-season rookies on the F1 grid this year, he and Red Bull’s Liam Lawson, who already has 11 races to his name, are likely to draw the most attention for the fact they’re with front-running teams that won races last year.
It makes the preparations for Antonelli all the more important. Mercedes will start 2025 trying to find the consistency it lacked for so much of last year. Russell will morph into the role of team leader following Hamilton’s departure, but for Antonelli, it’s all about getting the basics right and not letting the occasion over-awe him. “It’s going to be a big season ahead,” Antonelli said.
Now, with his driver’s license, F1’s youngest driver is ready for anything.
(Top photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Sports
Eileen Gu reflects on decision to leave Team USA for China: ‘A lot of people just don’t understand’
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Eileen Gu released a statement on social media Monday, reflecting on her controversial decision to compete for Team China despite being born and raised in the U.S.
Gu’s statement tied the decision back to her passion for promoting women’s sports, and encouraging young girls to pursue sports.
“I gave my first speech on women in sports and title IX when I was 11 years old. I talked about being the only girl on my ski team, and, despite attending an all-girls’ school from Monday through Friday, becoming best friends with my teammates on the weekends through the common language of sport,” Gu wrote on Instagram.
Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China poses for photos after the awarding ceremony of the freestyle skiing women’s freeski big air event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Photo by Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images) (Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)
“At the same time, I was made painfully aware of the lack of representation – at age 9, I felt that I was somehow representing all women every time I stepped in the terrain park. Landing tricks was about more than progression … it was about disproving the derisive implication of what it meant to ‘ski like a girl.’”
Gu went on to express gratitude for the one season in which she did compete for the U.S.
“When I was 15, I announced my decision to compete for China. At the time, I had spent one season on the US team, and had been lucky enough to meet my heroes in person. I am forever grateful for that season, and continue to maintain a close relationship with the team. I had spent every summer in China since I was 8 setting up summer camps on trampoline and dry slope for kids and adults, ranging from 7 to 47 years old, so I knew the industry was tiny. I felt like I knew everyone,” she added.
“Skiing for Team China meant the opportunity to uplift others through the universal culture of sport, and to introduce freeskiing to hundreds of millions of people who had never heard of it, especially with the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics around the corner.”
Gu’s statement concluded by acknowledging that certain people “don’t understand” her decision to compete for China over the U.S., while insisting the choice maximized the impact she would have.
“I can look back now, at 22, and tell 12 year old Eileen that there are now terrain parks full of little girls, who will never doubt their place in the sport. I can tell 15 year old me that there are now millions of girls who have started skiing since then, in China and worldwide,” Gu wrote.
“A lot of people won’t understand or believe that I made a decision to create the greatest amount of positive impact on the world stage that I could, at this age, given my interests and passions. Three golds and six medals later, I can confidently say was once a dream is now a reality.”
Gu has become a target for global criticism this Olympics for her decision to represent China while remaining silent on the country’s alleged human rights abuses.
In an interview with Time magazine, Gu was asked her thoughts on China’s alleged persecution of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
“I haven’t done the research. I don’t think it’s my business. I’m not going to make big claims on my social media,” Gu answered.
“I’m just more of a skeptic when it comes to data in general. … So, it’s not like I can read an article and be like, ‘Oh, well, this must be the truth.’ I need to have a ton of evidence. I need to maybe go to the place, maybe talk to 10 primary source people who are in a location and have experienced life there.
“Then I need to go see images. I need to listen to recordings. I need to think about how history affects it. Then I need to read books on how politics affects it. This is a lifelong search. It’s irresponsible to ask me to be the mouthpiece for any agenda.”
More controversy surrounding Gu erupted after The Wall Street Journal reported that Gu and another American-born athlete who now competes for China, were paid a combined $6.6 million by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025.
Gu is the highest-paid Winter Olympics athlete in the world, making an estimated $23 million in 2025 alone due to partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China and western companies.
Her alignment with China prompted criticism from many Americans this Olympics, including Vice President J.D. Vance.
“I certainly think that someone who grew up in the United States of America who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that makes this country a great place, I would hope they want to compete with the United States of America,” Vance said in an interview on Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”
Later, when Gu was asked if she feels “like a bit of a punching bag for a certain strand of American politics at the moment,” she said she does.
“I do,” she said. “So many athletes compete for a different country. … People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China. So, it’s not really about what they think it’s about.
“And, also, because I win. Like, if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me. People are entitled to their opinions.”
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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China attends the awarding ceremony of the freestyle skiing women’s freeski big air event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Hongxiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Gu has claimed she was “physically assaulted” for the decision.
“The police were called. I’ve had death threats. I’ve had my dorm robbed,” Gu told The Athletic.
“I’ve gone through some things as a 22-year-old that I really think no one should ever have to endure, ever.”
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Sports
Arnold, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Evans, Carl Lewis new members of California’s Hall of Fame
From Hollywood actors to Olympic athletes and politicians, California’s newest Hall of Fame class runs the gamut in talent and achievements.
Academy Award-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis and former governor/action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, Olympic champions Janet Evans and Carl Lewis, authors Riane Eisler and Terry McMillan, chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, groundbreaking ensemble Mariachi Reyne de Los Ángeles and former state Democratic leader John L. Burton all earned a spot into the assembly of distinct Californians, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday.
This class, the 19th in state history, will be formally enshrined during a ceremony at the California Museum in Sacramento on March 19 as a “celebration of their contributions to civic life, creativity, and social progress,” according to Newsom’s office.
The inductees “have reshaped our culture and our communities. Resilient and innovative, these leaders and luminaries represent the best of the California spirit,” Newsom said in a statement.
To be inducted, candidates must have lived in California for at least five years and “have made achievements benefiting the state, nation and world,” according to the California Hall of Fame website. To date, 166 Californians have been selected by three governors since 2006.
Schwarzenegger, 78, served as the state’s 38th governor and last Republican head of state from 2003 to 2011. His renaissance man biography includes a career as a body builder, highlighted by his Mr. Universe titles, action film success, political stardom and even tabloid-fodder infidelity.
Curtis, 67, a Santa Monica native, is among Hollywood’s elite and teamed with Schwarzenegger in the action blockbuster “True Lies” in 1994. Her acting career dates to 1977, and she earned a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 2023 for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Evans, 54, is a four-time Olympic gold medal swimmer and Fullerton native who attended Placentia El Dorado High School, Stanford University and USC. She serves as chief athletic officer for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Lewis, 64, is considered by many one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century. The track star won 10 medals, nine of them gold, in four Olympics.
Eisler, 88, and McMillan, 74, added multiple bestsellers to this Hall of Fame class.
Eisler’s critically acclaimed “The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future” examines roughly 20,000 years of partnership between men and women and male domination over the last 5,000 years. The futurist, cultural historian and Holocaust survivor who has degrees in sociology and law from UCLA said she was informed of the honor last year by Jennifer Siebel Newsom and recently was honored by the Austrian government with its Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class.
“I am very honored at this time in my life to be inducted into the California Hall of Fame,” Eisler wrote in an email. “I have worked tirelessly to help create a better world, and firmly believe that a new paradigm, a new way of looking at our world and our place in it, is crucial.”
McMillan has written a series of smash hits, including a couple that became major studio films in the ‘90s, “Waiting to Exhale” and “How Stella Got her Groove Back,” centered on Black women’s voices.
Matsuhisa, 76, know for his iconic Japanese restaurant Nobu, which has six locations in California, owns businesses across five continents.
Mariachi Reyna de Los Ángeles, founded in South El Monte, rewrote the rules of music, becoming the first all-woman mariachi ensemble that has entertained for more than three decades.
Burton, the former chair of the California Democratic Party who died last year at 92, boasted a political career that included time in the California State Assembly and Senate and the U.S. House.
“This year’s class embodies the very best of California — creativity, resilience and a spirit of community,” Siebel Newsom said in a statement. “These honorees remind us that innovation and courage flourish when people are lifted up by those around them.”
Sports
Former NFL Players Of Iranian Descent Speak Up For Freedom From Islamic Regime
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Ali Haji-Sheikh and Shar Pourdanesh share the fact they are retired NFL players living beyond the glow of the NFL spotlight. But they also share another distinction tying them to current events: They are part of the Iranian diaspora hoping for the downfall of the Islamic revolution.
They make up part of a small group of men who played in the NFL – along with David Bakhtiari, his brother Eric Bakhtiari and T.J. Housmandzadeh – who are decedents of Iranians.
Washington Redskins kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh (6) talks to reporters at Jack Murphy Stadium during media day prior to Super Bowl XXII against the Denver Broncos. San Diego, California, on Jan. 26, 1988.(Darr Beiser/USA TODAY Sports)
Haji-Sheikh: Self-Determination For Iranians
Haji-Sheikh, 65, played in the 1980s for the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins. He was a first-team All-Pro, made the Pro Bowl and was on the NFL All-Rookie team in 1983 for the Giants and, in his final season, won a Super Bowl XXII ring playing for the Washington Redskins and kicking six extra points in a 42-10 blowout of the Denver Broncos.
Now, Haji-Sheikh is the general manager at a Michigan Porsche-Audi dealership and is like the rest of us: Keeping up with world events when time permits.
Except the war the United States is currently waging against the Islamic Republic of Iran is kind of different because Haji-Sheikh’s dad emigrated from Iran to the United States in the 1950s and built a life here.
And his son would like to see freedom come to a country he’s never visited but has a kinship to.
“It’s a world event,” Haji-Sheikh said on Monday. “I am not a big fan of the Islamic revolution because I am not Islamic. I would like to see the people of Iran be able to determine their own future rather than it be determined by a few people. It would be nice to see them having a stable government where the people can actually decide how they want it to go.
Green Bay Packers kicker Al Del Greco (10) talks with New York Giants kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh (6) on Sept. 15, 1985, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Giants 23-20.
Iranians Celebrating And Americans Protesting
Haji-Sheikh hasn’t taken to the streets of his native Michigan to celebrate a liberation that hasn’t fully manifested mere days after the American and Israeli bombing and elimination of the Ayatollah.
“I’m so far removed from that,” Haji-Sheikh said. “My mom is from Michigan and of Eastern European background. My dad is from Iran. But it’s like, he hasn’t been back since I was in eighth grade, so that’s a long time ago. That was when the Shah was still in power, mid-70s, ‘74 or ’75, because if he ever went back after that he never would have left. They would have held him, so there was no intention of going back.
“But if things change he might want to go, you never know.”
Despite being removed from any activism about what is happening in Iran Haji-Sheikh is an astute observer.
“My favorite thing I’m seeing right now on TV is the Iranians in America celebrating because there’s a chance, a glimpse, maybe a hope for freedom,” Haji-Sheikh said. “And you have these people in New York protesting. What are you protesting?”
Pourdanesh Thanks America, Israel
Pourdanesh retired from the NFL in 2000 after a seven-year career with the Redskins and Steelers. The six-foot-six and 312-pound offensive tackle was born in Tehran. He proudly tells people he was the NFL’s first Iranian-born player.
Pourdanesh is much more visible and open about his feelings about his country than others. And, bottom line, he loves that President Donald Trump is bombing the Islamic regime.
“This is a great day for all Iranians across the world,” Pourdanesh posted on his Instagram account on Saturday when the war began. “Thank you, President Trump, thank you to the nation of Israel. Thank you for everybody that has been standing up for my people, my brothers and sisters in Iran across the world. This is a great day.
“The infamous dictator is dead – the one person who has contributed to deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iranians and other people around the world, if not more. So, congratulations to my Iranian brothers and sisters. Now, go and take back the country.”
This message was not a one-off. Pourdanesh has been posting about what has been happening in Iran since January, when people in Iran took to the streets demanding liberty and the government’s thugs began killing them, with some estimates rising to 36,500 deaths.
Offensive lineman Shar Pourdanesh (68) of the Pittsburgh Steelers blocks against defensive lineman Jevon Kearse (90) of the Tennessee Titans during a game at Three Rivers Stadium on Sept. 24, 2000, in Pittsburgh. The Titans defeated the Steelers 23-20. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
‘Islam Does Not Represent The Iranian People’
“[The] Islamic Republic does not represent the Iranian people,” Pourdanesh said in another post. “Islam does not represent the Iranian people. For almost 50 years, the Iranian people and our country of Iran has been taken hostage by a terrorist regime, and it’s time to take that regime down.”
Pourdanesh was not available for comment on Monday. I did speak to a handful of other Iranian-Americans on Monday. They didn’t play in the NFL, but their opinions are no less valuable than those of former NFL players.
And these people, some of them participating in rallies on behalf of a free Iran, do not understand the thinking of some Americans and mainstream media.
One complained that media that reports on reparations for black Americans based on slavery in the 1800s dismisses the Islamic takeover of the American Embassy in 1979 as an old grievance.
Another said his brother lives in England, where Prime Minister Keir Starmer immediately called the American and Israeli attacks on the Ayatollah’s regime “illegal” but, as the head of the Crown Prosecution Service took years to do the same of Muslim rape (grooming) gangs in the country.
(Starmer announced a national “statutory inquiry” in June 2025).
Offensive lineman Shar Pourdanesh of the Washington Redskins looks on from the sideline during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium on Sept. 7, 1997, in Pittsburgh. The Steelers defeated the Redskins 14-13. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
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Pourdanesh Calls Out NFL Silence
And finally, Pourdanesh put the NFL on blast. He said in yet another post that during his career, the NFL asked him to honor black history, asked him to stand for women’s rights, asked him to fight for equality for those who cannot defend themselves.
“I did everything they asked, and now I ask the NFL this: Where are you now? Why haven’t we heard a single word out of the NFL? NFL, Commissioner Roger Goodell, all the NFL teams out there, all the players who say they stand for social justice, where are you now?
“Why haven’t we heard a single word out of you with regard to the people who have been killed as of today? The very values you claim to espouse are being trampled right now. Why haven’t we heard a single word?”
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