Now it’s official
After long-lasting rumours about the possible future of Andrea Kimi Antonelli in Formula 1, more precisely at the wheel of the Mercedesthe confirmation came right on the occasion of the Italian GP weekend in Monza: the 18 year old from Bologna will be the new official pilot of the Brackley team for next season, where he will replace seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and join George Russell.
The dream come true
This will be the debut after the private tests carried out during this season and the FP1 on Friday, which ended with an impact against the barriers that did not change the Team Principal’s plans one iota. Toto Wolff after Antonelli joined the Junior Team at just 12 years of age: “Being here on the track with all the other riders was an incredible feeling. – the Austrian manager’s protégé explained to the media – I made a mistake yesterday, but I learned my lesson and I’ll be ready for next year. It’s a dream come true and I’ve dreamed about it since I was a kid. I can’t wait to get started”.
In Mercedes instead of Hamilton
Antonelli will therefore take over from Lewis Hamiltonwho will begin a new chapter in his career at Ferrari in 2025. A driver who has written the history of Mercedes, as the Bolognese driver acknowledged, with the Anglo-German team now preparing to open another chapter with a new line-up: “There is no replacement for Hamiltonhe is a great figure in this sport and I don’t see him as a real replacement. I will just be the next Mercedes driver and I’m very happy about that. He is a great person and he has helped me too.”
Driving style and pressures
The #12 (who confirmed he will use this number in honour of his idol Ayrton Senna) will reach Brackley after finishing this season in F2, where he won two races on his debut in this championship after skipping F3, moving directly from the European Formula Regional to the Circus’ junior category: “My goal has always been to do well in Formula 2 and in testing while waiting to understand what the decision about my future would be. – he added – I am an empathetic person, while I have a very aggressive driving style. I think one of the main factors is when you know you have a team like Mercedes around you that really believes in you, and it’s been like that since I was very young.. It really helps you deal with this pressure. very well, even if sometimes I still can’t manage it perfectly. I still get the right support from Mercedes and from my family, so I’m really happy to be with them and I’m really happy with the support they’ve given me not only in the past, but also today”.
Lesson learned
FP1 was Antonelli’s first ever experience in an official race weekend, which however ended with an exit from the track at the entrance to the Parabolica after the Bolognese had nevertheless set some very interesting times: “Yesterday wasn’t the ideal session, but I learned my lesson – he admitted – you can’t push it to the floor right awayespecially if the track is still slippery and the grip was lower than expected. Next time I will try to be more progressive instead of going straight to the limit. The 30 minutes after the accident were really difficult, but then I tried to focus on F2, and qualifying was also a good way to forget what happened. The F1 car is an incredible machine that gives you a lot of confidence. Yesterday I had too much and it didn’t help. Feeling all the power, the braking or even just seeing so many people in the garage was something I wasn’t used to. I would say that one of my weak points was the race pacebut with the tests I improved a lot. Obviously there is a lot I still have to learn and yesterday was proof of that. But every time I get in the car I feel better”.
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