Kimi Antonelli, leader of the Formula 1 championship, has started facing a legal dispute off the track. Giovanni Minardi, the driver’s former manager, filed a civil lawsuit in Italy demanding a multimillion-dollar compensation, claiming he never received the agreed payment after the Italian’s career began in the category.
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According to the information released, the case was filed at the Bologna Court before the Hungarian GP. The lawsuit concerns alleged unpaid payments and compensation related to the termination of the management contract between Minardi and Antonelli before the driver’s Formula 1 debut in 2025.
Giovanni Minardi, son of Giancarlo Minardi, founder of the former Minardi team in Formula 1, has followed Antonelli since the early years of his career. The driver joined Minardi Management in 2014 and, at just 11 years old, had a test organized to try to enter Ferrari’s academy. According to the source, the Italian team rejected his entry at the time for being too young. In 2018, Antonelli joined Mercedes’ young driver program.
From this change, Antonelli stopped being represented by Minardi and started being managed by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. It is precisely this transition that is at the center of the legal dispute.
According to the publication, the parties are still far from an agreement, and the amounts involved would be several millions. In an interview with Adnkronos, Giovanni Minardi’s lawyer, Mattia Grassani, stated that resorting to the courts was the only remaining option.
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“Giovanni Minardi suffered greatly from what happened and resorted to the ordinary courts because it was the only option left. So many years of work, sacrifice, and investment in the young driver deserved much greater recognition. The legal path was the only alternative,” he declared.
The lawyer added that the case has been dragging on for almost a year and also involves Antonelli’s parents. “This is a very complex case, which has already gone through several hearings. The lawsuit puts Giovanni Minardi against Kimi Antonelli and his parents, alleging breach of the management contract signed when Kimi was still a minor.”
Grassani explained that the Antonelli family considered that the contract conditions ceased to exist after the move to Mercedes. “That is when the dispute arose. There were opportunities for an out-of-court settlement, but the proposals presented were considered unacceptable by the former manager. Unfortunately, it was not possible to reach a compromise,” he concluded.
According to the same investigation, the course of the process may lead Toto Wolff and Gwen Lagrue, former head of Mercedes’ young driver program and currently at Red Bull, to testify during the action.
