Italy’s New Law Won’t Allow 18 Year Old F1 Driver Kimi Antonelli To Drive His Mercedes Gift Until 2028

Mercedes gift Kimi Antonelli Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S Coupe to show their appreciation for the 18 year old Italian racing driver.

Kim won’t be able to drive his car until 2028 due to new Italy’s road regulations which came into affect on December 14, 2024.

New law prohibits new drivers from driving vehicles with more than 100-hp per ton during the first three years of holding their license.

Kimi’s Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S Coupe gift with 577 horsepower comes few months after passing his driving test in January of this year.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who was chosen by the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team to replace seven-time World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, has made a stellar start to his F1 career, picking up 30 points from the first three Grand Prix races of 2025.

To show their appreciation for the 18 year old Italian racing driver, Mercedes gifted the F1 rookie a Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S Coupe, whose key was presented before last week’s Japanese GP in Suzuka.

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While age appears to be no barrier for F1 drivers to pilot high-performance F1 race cars, Kimi won’t be able to drive his Mercedes-AMG until 2028 due to new Italy’s road regulations which came into affect on December 14, 2024.

According to Motorsport, the new law prohibits new drivers from driving vehicles with more than 75 kW (about 100 horsepower) per ton on public roads during the first three years (previously one year) of holding their license.

Kimi’s powerful Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S Coupe, a car gift with 430 kW (577 horsepower) per ton, comes few months after the Bologna-born driver passed his driving test in January of this year.

Mercedes-Benz first showcase the new Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance Coupe at the 2024 Beijing auto show, alongside the electric G-Class, now known as the “G 580 with EQ Technology” instead of the EQG.

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