Components 1 Padock’s first look for Andrea AntoneliThe brand new Mercedes driver got here to the German grand in 2010 when he was 7 years outdated. He was not approved.
“My father determined to cover me in a pile of tires and hesitate to take me on a stroller,” mentioned Antonelli, also referred to as Kimi, in an interview supplied by his crew. His father Marco managed a crew that competed within the assist class. “We put an umbrella on prime to make it troublesome for me! I handed by way of and into the spit, and my father’s good friend took a cross. I appeared for an hour and it was such a cool expertise. “
Antonelli, who was not out there for an interview, will compete for Mercedes six years after becoming a member of her younger drivers program. At 18, he would be the youngest driver this season. He went by way of his driver’s journey automobile solely in January.
Antonelli gained two Components 4 titles in her first full season in 2022 after which two regional components titles in 2023. Antoneli skipped Components 3, focusing straight to Components 2 in 2024, the place he gained twice and completed the sixth as a complete.
“He was instantly fast from the start,” mentioned Rene Rosin, director of the Prema Racing crew, the crew that has been operating Antonelli for 3 years, mentioned in an interview in February. “There have been some errors in a rookie, it is regular, however when he arrived on the F4 all through the season, he was completely a machine.
“He loves being near individuals and speaking with individuals, he’s very skilled, is aware of what he desires to do, he desires to win, desires to attain the utmost doable, and when the outcomes don’t come, he will get upset with himself and at all times tries in a constructive manner to enhance, this can be a excellent mentality.”
Rosin advised a wet competitors in 2023 in Zandvort, within the Netherlands, the place Antonelli was “roughly a second quicker than all of the others” in equal machines and gained with a “insane margin”, emphasizing his potential.
When Mercedes realized final 12 months Lewis Hamilton would leave The Ferrari crew for 2025 Antonelli turned a significant candidate who changed him. Antonelli launched an in depth check program final 12 months and embedded within the Grands Prix crew.
“I spend loads of time on the manufacturing unit attempting to make many crew buildings,” he mentioned on the F1 occasion to begin in February. “However for now it was actually fascinating and it was gone. I actually tried to focus every single day, specializing in progress and attempting to concentrate on attempting to be taught as many issues as doable, as a result of what I wish to keep away from is arrive in Melbourne and have dangerous surprises. “(The primary season competitors will probably be in Australia on March 16.)
Antonelli has giant filling sneakers. The six Hamilton titles and 84 wins made it probably the most profitable partnership between a driver and a crew. However Antonelli accepts a practical viewpoint.
“I am not proper to say I am his substitute,” Antonelli mentioned, citing Hamilton. “He has completed a lot in sports activities. Really feel [I am] The subsequent Mercedes driver. And I actually wish to make my very own story. “
Mercedes is a Entrance-Runner, However Its Fortunes Have Been Blended Below the Guidelines That Had been Launched in 2022. It has Has Received Solely 5 Races in Three Years, of Which 4 Got here in 202 LOWEST SINCE 2012. That Has Eased A few of the Stress on Antonelli, with 2025 Considered a Transition Yr Forward of New Guidelines in 2026.
“I haven’t got a lot expectation to be sincere,” he mentioned. “What I actually do is attempt to concentrate on the method. Attempt to take pleasure in it as properly. However undoubtedly one thing I actually wish to do is begin with rhythm and attempt to construct it. And attempt to be constant. “
Antonel’s teammate, George Russell27, enters its seventh season and fourth with Mercedes.
“After I look again, after I was Kimi’s age, I do not assume you are extra sluggish, you simply achieve expertise over time,” mentioned Russell on the Mercedes occasion. “You’ve got pace, you might have it. And if you happen to do not, you do not. It is virtually so simple as this. I am positive Kimi will maintain me on the toes and press. “
Rosin has directed a number of drivers to Components 1 lately, together with Charles Leclerk, Oscar Piathrasi, Pierre Gasley and Oliver Beyman, teammate of Components 2 of Antoneli final 12 months. Rosin is bound that Antonelli will flourish.
“In precept, the 2 drivers we had, and Pierre, Charles, Oscar, all of them, are all drivers who should be in Components 1 and can show what it means to be driver,” Rosin mentioned. “I feel he [Antonelli] is a part of this elite group of drivers that they’re there as a result of they deserve it. “
