From the preparatory categories to F1: the shortest routes besides Antonelli’s

Several drivers of the modern era have made a difference in the preparatory categories of Formula 1, so much so that their stay in the latter lasted very little before their arrival in the Circus. The most recent case was that of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, current world championship leader after victories in the Chinese and Japanese GPs. Noticed by Mercedes at the age of just 12, the Bolognese was immediately hired in the Junior Program of the Anglo-German team, subsequently triumphing in the Italian and German F4 championships, as well as making his first signature in the European and Middle-East Formula Regional championships. A CV sufficient to convince Mercedes to bring Antonelli directly to Formula 2 in 2024, with performances that pushed Toto Wolff to promote him to F1 the following year in place of Lewis Hamilton, who moved to Ferrari. But who were the other drivers who, together with Antonelli, became famous for forging ahead so quickly? The world champions The most famous case of all is certainly that of Max Verstappen. Son of Jos and kart driver Sophie, the Dutchman started karting at just 4 years old, and then took part in the first championships three years later. Born in 1997, his debut with single-seaters took place in 2014 in the Florida Winter Series and in European Formula 3, but the following year the Red Bull Junior Team promoted him directly to Formula 1 with Toro Rosso as a minor (17 years old), establishing the first of numerous age-related records. Another particularly impressive journey was that of Fernando Alonso, who began his career with karts almost by chance: his father in fact built a model for his daughter, but the latter’s disinterest meant that the Spaniard inherited it, immediately establishing notable results. The successes opened the door to his debut with single-seaters in Euro Open by Nissan in 1999, where he won on his debut. Having moved to Formula 3000 International, Minardi initially focused on him as a third driver, and then placed him on the starting grid in 2001. Kimi Raikkonen also moved to Formula 1 very quickly, in the same year. After his successes with karting, ‘Iceman’ moved on to single-seaters, with which he won two British Formula Renault titles. Triumphs that convinced Sauber to offer him a test with a Formula 1 car, at the end of which the Finn signed a contract for 2001, making his debut with a placing in the points in the first race. World champion in 2007, the Finn is still the last driver to have won a title with Ferrari. Rarer and further back in time, however, was the path that Jacques Villeneuve took: son of the late Gilles, the Canadian moved in a very short time from karting to categories such as the Italian Formula 3, and then moved to high-level competitions such as Formula Nippon, Formula Atlantic and above all Formula CART, where he even won the Indianapolis 500 in 1995. The following year, Villeneuve made his debut in Formula 1 at the wheel of Williams, and then became world champion in 1997. Also in this case, like that of Raikkonen in Ferrari, the Canadian is the last to have won a title with the Grove team. Today’s drivers In addition to the aforementioned Antonelli, Verstappen and Alonso, there are four other drivers who approached the world of Formula 1 in a relatively short time, and two of these have climbed to the top step of the podium at least once in their career. Having returned to F1 this year after a season of absence, Valtteri Bottas grew quickly in the preparatory categories, starting with the victories achieved in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup in 2008. Moving to the Formula 3 Euro Series the following year, the Finn’s performances convinced Williams to hire him as a test driver in 2010. In addition to this role, Bottas became champion in Formula 3 in 2011, but instead of continuing in F2 he remained in Williams as a test driver, making his F1 debut in 2013. Despite the team’s difficulties in terms of competitiveness, the Finn collected a total of 9 podiums until 2015, enough to convince Mercedes, with whom he won 10 victories as well as two world vice-champion titles. Not far from the dream, in this case in 2025, was also Oscar Piastri. An Australian of Italian origins, unlike other colleagues he did not ‘skip’ any categories to approach Formula 1, but his CV speaks for itself: after good performances in British and United Arab Emirates F4, Piastri was the only driver in history to win consecutively (from 2019 to 2021) the Formula Renault, Eurocup, Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles. His debut in F1 with Alpine in 2023 after a year as third driver in the French team, but on the day of the official announcement of the latter Piastri denied it with the press release of his move to McLaren. A dispute arose between the two teams, with the FIA ​​Contract Recognition Commission which however agreed with the Woking manufacturer. Although he is still chasing his first F1 victory, Lance Stroll is the second youngest driver ever to make his debut in the Circus at 18. A feat he achieved at the wheel of Williams in 2017, when the team decided to focus on him after the excellent successes obtained not only with karts, but also and above all in Italian F4 (in his first year with single-seaters), in the Toyota Racing Series and in European Formula 3, where he became champion in 2016. The last promise, finally, is that of Arvid Lindblad, making his debut in Formula 1 this season after a career that began with the single-seaters in 2022 in Italian F4. From there, the Briton from the Red Bull Junior Team made progress that took him to Formula 3 in 2024, where he took victory in his debut race. A feat that he will also be able to accomplish the following year in Formula 2, with further decisive performances for his F1 debut this year in Racing Bulls.