Kimi Antonelli and Eliska Babickova split as she hits back at rumours

Kimi Antonelli and Eliska Babickova have split, the Czech racer announcing it on social media to shut down what she called “false, disgusting narratives” circulating online.

Antonelli and Babickova reportedly began dating in October 2023, and she made her first visit to the Formula 1 paddock at the following year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Kimi Antonelli and his girlfriend have broken up

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Often seen in the paddock with the Italian, Babickova, who is a professional karting driver, hinted that all was not well when she posted on Instagram in late January.

“Sorry guys, I’ve been super inactive lately,” she wrote. “January was a tough month for me, and I wanted to focus on figuring some of my personal things out.”

A month later, she confirmed she has split with her 19-year-old boyfriend on the eve of the F1 2026 championship.

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Addressing her 170,000 Instagram followers, she said: “This is quite recent because all throughout February, me and Kimi were trying to figure stuff out. We were just not really sure at what point the relationship was ourselves.

“That’s why I didn’t address it until now, although the rumours have been around for I don’t know how long.

“Also, I’ve seen so much speculation and fake narratives and news, and whatever. That’s not right. I want to set the record straight, just so everyone knows and there doesn’t need to be any more false, disgusting narratives.

“Yes, we did break up. I was the one to end the relationship because I felt that we no longer aligned in our personal lives and in what we wanted for our future.

“Also, our values towards the end of the relationship were very different. That’s why the relationship ended. There’s no massive drama. Nothing like this.

“It’s super misrepresentative of what our relationship was. It was never that. Although we did have issues towards the end of our relationship, other people were never the problem.”

The confirmation of the end of their relationship comes just a week before Antonelli puts on his helmet for the season-opening practice session in Melbourne on 6 March.

The Italian is one of the favourites this season given Mercedes’ impressive form during pre-season testing.

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