Kimi Antonelli faces the 2025 final exam: «The oral exam is what worries me the most»

Kimi Antonelli faced the first test of the 2025 final exam by choosing a current topic: the word “respect”. The Formula 1 driver left the Casalecchio di Reno Institute with a slightly tired face, confessing to being “quite tense”. But he calmly answered the journalists’ questions. How did he spend the eve? “I listened to Venditti’s Notte prima degli esami – he says – and then I rejoiced for Virtus’ victory.” His thoughts immediately run to the oral exam, the part that scares him the most.

He adds some details about the subjects: “Maths is not my strong point, but English comes easily to me. It’s almost like a second language, I use it often in the Scuderia.” Between pages of books and the roar of the engine, Kimi Antonelli didn’t ask the engineers for help with the calculations. “They were busy with the car,” he jokes. Now he hopes that his high school diploma will finish before the Grand Prix in Austria, so he can focus only on the races.

Kimi Antonelli's Maturity: A Mix of School and Motors

The young driver shows up in a black T-shirt and gray pants, a backpack on his shoulder, and runs a hand through his disheveled hair. He entered the school through a side entrance, avoiding the spotlight, but at the exit the reporters were there, ready to ask him questions. “I did my best,” he says without too many frills. “I didn’t study as much as I would have liked, I was more nervous for this exam than for an F1 race.”

He chose track B, the current affairs theme on respect, inspired by an article by Riccardo Maccioni in Avvenire . “Treccani and the Ministry have indicated this word as the word of the year,” he explains.

The night before exams? Not just studying. “My friends and I listened to Venditti and celebrated Virtus winning the championship.”

A boy who doesn't forget his passions but also holds firm with school.