Formula 1 does not live apart from the obsession that permeates most sports institutions, be they football teams, basketball teams or whatever you want, to detect talent as soon as possible, and thus begin to make it profitable. Red Bull did not stop until it made Max Verstappen debut in 2015, before he was 17 and a half years old. This same year, Oliver Bearman became the third precocious rookie in history (under 18 years old), at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, where he was called by Ferrari ‘in extremis’, to replace Carlos Sainz, while the man from Madrid was taken to the hospital to undergo emergency surgery for appendicitis. The next one on the list has all the numbers to be Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the new pearl that Toto Wolff, the director of Mercedes, wants to get onto the track as soon as possible.
At 17 years old, this boy born in Bologna aspires to become the first Italian to win a grand prix since Giancarlo Fisichella did it in Malaysia, in 2006, and with Renault. That happened half a year before Antonelli was born. Those who have seen him handle himself in the lower categories even dare to say that he has the material of a future champion. Although many assume that his middle name comes from the admiration that the boy’s father had for Kimi Raikkonen, there is no direct testimony to prove such a statement. Despite this, the boy has certain things in common with the Finn. Above all, one: both are used to climbing the steps two at a time, skipping intermediate stages. If he Ice man He went directly from Formula 3 to F1 without going through the 3000, Antonelli did the same this season, in which he competes in Formula 2, with the Prema structure, the same one that Charles Leclerc, Óscar Piastri once went through , among others; after shining in F4 two years ago, when he won the Italian and German championships.
It was his father, Marco, a professional touring car driver, who gave him the racing bug. Who paid for his time in karting in Italy, and who made it possible for Mercedes to notice him and incorporate him into their racer training program when the boy was 13 years old (2019). Since then, Antonelli has always been under the tutelage of Wolff, who will not stop until he sees him in an F1 car. The influence of the Austrian executive, especially in Mercedes and in the client teams of the star manufacturer, may even precipitate a premiere during this same year. Wolff’s idea is for the boy to accumulate as many kilometers as possible throughout 2024, to prepare him for an eventual incorporation into the Silver Arrows, perhaps even in 2025.
To do this, and to obtain the essential super license to join F1, Antonelli is immersed in a busy schedule of private tests, with the 2021 and 2022 Mercedes, which have confirmed the talent he has. “In addition,” someone who has been present at some of those tests tells EL PAÍS, “he has a character that seems molded for current F1. He is outgoing and very relaxed, and has no problem laughing and making jokes.” In any case, before thinking about getting into the Mercedes that Lewis Hamilton will leave free when he dresses in Ferrari red, the Bolognese has to burn another stage, probably in Williams. That’s where Wolff has his sights, specifically on the car currently driven by Logan Sargeant. The North American is the weakest link in the Grove formation (Great Britain), a circumstance that has been made clear on several occasions. In Australia, for example, Sargeant couldn’t race on Sunday after his bosses decided to steal his car and give it to Alex Albon, his teammate, who destroyed hers in training. What happens is that it is one thing to be the victim in this type of situation, and another, very different, to accept that you are left permanently grounded, when, in addition, you have invested a lot of effort—and money—in doing so. your dream comes true.
In Miami, where Verstappen achieved a new pole this Saturday —Sainz was third and Alonso, 15th; race this Sunday at 10:00 p.m., Dazn-, it emerged that Williams has asked the FIA for a safe passage that, if accepted, would allow Antonelli to line up on the grid for a grand prix before turning 18, something that will take place, precisely , on the Sunday of the Dutch Grand Prix, August 25.
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