Giovanni Minardi and Antonelli
When Andrea Kimi Antonelli started winning in Formula 1, the media spotlight increasingly turned to the young Bolognese. In particular, the story of his discoverer Giovanni Minardi – son of Gian Carlo, founder of the eponymous team – who saw him on track in Sarno in 2014 during a kart race and immediately brought him into Minardi Management, became well-known.
Read more Hungarian GP 2026, FP1: green light at 13:30, Antonelli ‘in the pits’ – LIVE
It was he who introduced the very young Antonelli first to Ferrari and then to Mercedes, finding doors closed by the Prancing Horse and wide open by Toto Wolff instead. In 2019, the current world leader thus entered the Mercedes Academy, when he was still racing karts. The rest, as they say, is history.
The break with the manager
What was not known until today is that the relationship between Minardi Jr. and Antonelli abruptly ended in 2025, when the Bolognese made his Formula 1 debut.
Today’s edition of Corriere dello Sport explained that Antonelli exercised a unilateral withdrawal from the management agreement with his manager.
Read more Russell on the software bug: “A huge weight has been lifted, there was an incorrect calibration”
Add FormulaPassion to your Favorite Sources on Google
The action was obviously not welcomed by Giovanni Minardi, who in the second half of 2025 initiated a lawsuit at the Court of Bologna claiming “compensation stipulated in the representation mandate that was never disbursed”. The parties are said to be very far from reaching a settlement agreement to close the accounts on the past, and the Roman newspaper highlighted how “it is a multi-million dollar lawsuit”, given that last year Antonelli earned something like 12-13 million euros.
In the proceedings, the current team principal, co-owner, and CEO of Mercedes F1 Toto Wolff, as well as the then head of the Silver Arrows’ youth programs, Gwen Lagrue, could also be summoned as witnesses.
Read more Contacts and penalties, Hamilton: “I won’t go to the meeting. I’m looking beyond”
