The summer break may be upon Formula 1, but that hasn’t stopped Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli from finding himself in the middle of a lawsuit.
Ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, it was revealed that the 19-year-old had a pending lawsuit. The son of Giancarlo Minardi, founder of the perennial backmarker F1 team of the 1980s and 90s, believes that Antonelli owes him millions in compensation for his early role in Antonelli’s career.
The case stretches back to 2014, when Antonelli was eight and found himself a part of Minardi Management whilst karting. As the years progressed and Antonelli’s talent was clear, he began to look out for opportunities to join another F1 team’s driver academy.
A few years later, when the Italian was 11-years-old, he found himself preparing for a test to join the coveted Ferrari Driver Academy.
However, Antonelli didn’t end up a part of the Scuderia, and instead signed to Mercedes’ junior programme in 2018. From then on, the now championship leader was represented by Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff, ultimately ending his ties to Minardi.
But a decade later, Minardi suggests Antonelli owes him for his early involvement in his career.
“Giovanni Minardi suffered enormously over what happened. And turned to ordinary justice because it was the only option left,” Minardi’s lawyer Mattia Grassani told Adnkronos.
“So many years of work, sacrifice, and investment in the young driver deserved far greater recognition. The ordinary justice route was the only option.”
A case silently brewing for Antonelli
Despite only officially surfacing last weekend, allegations supposedly date back to before the Mercedes driver’s rookie season. Grassani suggested that the pair have been in and out of hearings for the past year. However, due to the complexity of the case, there has been no official decision as of yet.
“This is a very complex case that has been pending for almost a year and has already seen numerous hearings.
“It pits Giovanni Minardi and Kimi Antonelli against their parents, alleging breach of the management contract awarded to the minor Kimi and his parents several years ago.”
Grassani continued by emphasising how the dispute even came to be. Whilst highlighting that they have tried to avoid court, with no avail.
“When the driver moved to Mercedes, the Antonelli team deemed the conditions no longer met to continue.
“This is where the dispute arose.
“There were opportunities to settle the matter out of court. But the offers made were deemed unacceptable by the former manager, who expressed his full availability. Unfortunately, no compromise was reached.”
Antonelli and Mercedes must provide sufficient evidence to overturn this lawsuit. If they fail to do so, they risk a hefty payout to Minardi and his team.
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