Inside Kimi Antonelli’s lifestyle, from his love of racing radio-controlled cars to why he wears a whale-tail necklace

AT 20 Kimi Antonelli has got the world at his feet and is on track to becoming an F1 champion. His latest showing at Monza will go down in history as one of the greatest drives of all time. Kimi Antonelli is on the verge of F1 mortality after his thrilling win at Monza Credit: Formula 1 via Getty Images Away from the circuit, Antonelli has become the poster boy for motorsport in Italy Credit: http://www.instagram.com/kimi.antonelli/ Miraculously, he executed an extraordinary comeback from 19th on the grid to beat Mercedes teammate George Russell in the final few laps to record his seventh win of the season. He is 66 points clear with 10 races to go. It’s in his hands. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! Away from the track, Antonelli is a typical young lad who just so happens to have an incredible talent for racing. The prodigy has become a poster boy in Italy for motor racing, appearing front-row in fashion shows in Milan and on the cover of GQ Italia. But, Antonelli’s passion is his need for speed. One of his favourite hobbies is to race radio-controlled 1:8 scale motorised cars. The wonderkid also loves to remain active in his spare time, playing padel with his trainer and friends. While, he’s also very superstitious and wears a “lucky” whale-tail necklace during races. RC Cars It’s probably no surprise that a F1 driver likes doing something speedy in his spare time. Most read in Sport One of Antonelli’s hobbies, which could possibly count as training, is to race radio-controlled cars. Recently, Antonelli has developed a love of RC cars Credit: http://www.instagram.com/kimi.antonelli/ Antonelli says it is like a form of mental training and helps him stay focused Credit: http://www.instagram.com/kimi.antonelli/ He revealed: “I’ve recently taken up driving radio-controlled cars – the 1:8 scale motorised ones: they’re brilliant and very challenging. “I also see it as a form of mental training because it helps me stay focused and not get distracted for a moment.” A video shared on MotorSport.com’s social media pages in 2025 showed Antonelli’s impressive skills on a track with a RC car. Last month, Formula One’s official website posted a video of Antonelli and his rivals George Russell, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri trying their hand at RC cars navigating an obstacle course they created. But these weren’t the 1:8 scale motorised ones that Antonelli enjoys so regularly. Norris ended up winning the challenge, as the Italian placed fourth. Padel and how Antonelli switches off Antonelli’s pastimes are steeped in his appetite to improve as a driver. “I mainly play the Formula 1 simulator,” he told Il Sole 24 ORE’s lifestyle magazine, HTSI (How to Spend It). And he continues to remain active and sporty in his downtime, while recognising moments when he needs to “switch off”. Antonelli recently attended Wimbledon Credit: WireImage In his spare time, Antonelli also enjoys playing padel Credit: http://www.instagram.com/kimi.antonelli/ Antonelli likes to remain active and enjoys watersports Credit: http://www.instagram.com/kimi.antonelli/ Antonelli lounges on a yacht during his downtime Credit: http://www.instagram.com/kimi.antonelli/ “If I get the chance, I go and play a few games of tennis or padel with my trainer or my friends,” he said. “In the evening, if I can, I might meet up with them to go to the cinema or bowling. Simple activities, but they help me switch off.” On Instagram, he shares glimpses of his personal life to his fans. That includes watersports and lounging on a yacht. Superstitious in nature Like many on the circuit, Antonelli leans towards superstitions for luck. He believes that 12 is his lucky number and a sign of destiny. When a red flag period during the Monza race left him sitting exactly in 12th place, it reinforced his belief that things were going his way. The Bologna-born youngster also refuses to entertain questions about becoming an F1 champion. Shooting down a reporter’s question about how he would celebrate if he did win the championship, he retorted: “Oh my god, I don’t like this question… No, I’m very superstitious… we’ll think about it when it happens.” However, it’s his whale-tail necklace that has motorsport fans talking. Fastened like a choker, there’s a sentimental story behind it too, as he told Vogue. F1 boy wonder Antonelli’s whale-tail necklace has fans talking Credit: Morgese/NurPhoto/Shutterstock Antonelli wears the necklace while racing for luck Credit: Agency/ABACA/Shutterstock The necklace was a gift from his mother when the family visited Sardinia when Antonelli was 12 Credit: http://www.instagram.com/kimi.antonelli/ “I got this seven or eight years ago, when we were on vacation as a family in Sardinia. “My mum bought it for me and I’ve been wearing it ever since. “In Italy, they say the tail of a whale brings good luck.” He’s single Antonelli’s has been lucky in life and on the track. But, his love life suffered a blow in February this year. He was in a relationship with Czech beauty, Eliska Babickova until she pulled the plug on their romance. However, it was not to be, which she shared on social media, also refuting claims that others were involved in their split. She shared on video on Instagram: “Yes, we did break up. I was the one to end the relationship because I felt that we no longer aligned in our personal lives and in what we wanted for our future. “Also, our values towards the end of the relationship were very different. That’s basically it. That’s why the relationship ended. There’s no massive drama. Nothing like this. “No other men, no other women were involved. There was no cheating. And I think it is super wrong for anyone to assume that because it is very misrepresentative of who me and Kimi are as people. Czech beauty Eliska Babickova recently split with Antonelli Credit: GRAB Eliska revealed it was her decision to call time on their romance Credit: Getty Images In a social media post, Eliska slammed reports that anyone else was involved in their split Credit: GRAB “It’s super misrepresentative of what our relationship was. It was never that. “Although we did have issues towards the end of our relationship, other people were never the problem. It just misrepresents everything that our relationship was about and I don’t like that. “I want to set it right and I want to set the record straight, just so everyone knows and there doesn’t need to be any more false, disgusting narratives.” Comment now