It’s truthful to say the Italian Grand Prix weekend didn’t fairly go to plan for Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes.
The Italian’s promotion had been long-intended, and the timing of his affirmation was, in fact, not an accident. However the backdrop of his outing on Friday very a lot was.
Antonelli solely turned 18 every week in the past, and Mercedes had resisted the temptation to drop him into an FP1 session any sooner than Monza, regardless of an FIA regulation change that may permit 17 yr olds to participate upon request. That’s as a result of Antonelli had already dealt with each step of his improvement in a powerful approach, and Mercedes knew much more about him already than any single FP1 outing was going to inform it.
But the expertise was nonetheless going to be invaluable, and Mercedes does want to finish two necessary FP1 periods with a rookie driver per the rules, so what higher approach to announce Antonelli’s 2025 race seat than at his dwelling grand prix weekend after he had simply made his first look within the 2024 automobile?
Antonelli’s Monza observe outing was transient, but it surely left an impression. Zak Mauger/Motorsport Photos
All of it made excellent sense, and for about 9 minutes of that observe session, it couldn’t have gone any higher. He was noticed by Mercedes in karting, however since dominating that scene, Antonelli has additionally proven a capability to get into just about any automobile and drive it near its restrict immediately.
Consider the way in which that Max Verstappen so typically appears to be pushing more durable than nearly anybody else from the very first lap of a race weekend: It’s a trait that lots of the nice drivers satisfaction themselves on.
Sadly, on this event, it proved to be an excessive amount of too quickly, as Antonelli’s second flying lap went from being set to usurp Lewis Hamilton on the high of the instances – Hamilton himself having simply set his lap – to an especially heavy influence within the Parabolica tire barrier.
“We’d somewhat have an issue in slowing him down than making him quicker,” Toto Wolff mentioned afterwards. “As a result of what we’ve seen from one and a half laps is simply astonishing.”
The outpouring of positivity in the direction of Antonelli, even after he’d simply closely broken a automobile so early in his first outing, was well-placed. Clearly it served Wolff and Mercedes to stop the narrative turning into important or questioning of his strategy, given the information that was to comply with the following day. But additionally, at 18 years outdated, such an incident may have a significant influence on a driver’s confidence if not dealt with sensitively.
And it’s really a continuation of a theme with Antonelli. He was requested to step as much as the Method 2 championship straight from Method Regional European Championship this yr – a leap of two classes in simply his third full season of automobile racing. Why? As a result of the primary yr introduced the Italian and German F4 championships, and the second each the FRECA and Method Regional Center East titles.
Antonelli rose quickly to Method 2, the place he’s already a a number of race-winner. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Photos
So when pushing him so shortly in the direction of F1, Mercedes knew there could be a steep studying curve required. And it grew to become even steeper given Prema – who he has pushed for all through his junior profession – has endured a a lot more durable F2 season than anticipated, struggling considerably with a brand new automobile.
However that has meant Antonelli has wanted to hone his racecraft differently to when he was dominating championships. Regardless of that backdrop and circuits he didn’t know, he had three level scoring finishes from the primary 4 F2 races, when he arrived at one other new monitor in Melbourne.
Right here, when preventing for a primary podium of the season within the Dash race, he dropped it making an attempt to hold on across the exterior of a gaggle of vehicles and retired. It was an indication of his inexperience – coping with the influence of visitors on the F2 automobile’s aerodynamics and the Albert Park grip ranges – however not one thing to be criticized, as he discovered from the scenario shortly.
He’s solely retired from an F2 race as soon as since, and that was when he was taken out on the first braking zone on the opening lap in Silverstone, a retirement that got here in the future after his first win within the Dash race, and two begins earlier than his debut Characteristic race win in Hungary.
So the crash on Friday in Monza may need been irritating to take care of on the time, however Mercedes is aware of it has a driver who will use that have to evolve shortly. Rookies will make pricey errors, but it surely’s Antonelli’s uncooked pace and adaptableness that has all the time shone by.
However greater than that, a crash was by no means going to derail any plans or trigger Wolff to second-guess himself in any respect, as a result of, as one group member put it, “there’s a deeper love” past simply driver and boss.
Mercedes and group principal Toto Wolff have guided Antonelli by his junior profession, very like they did along with his future teammate George Russell. Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Photos
“You’ll be able to’t discuss your self since you come throughout like a t***!” Wolff mentioned when summing up Antonelli in entrance of a packed home in Monza. “I feel what to say about Kimi… an ideal household background. His household is aware of all the things about racing that you could know as a driver and out of doors.
“[His father, Marco] has been with Kimi straight from the get-go. [He has a] fantastic, fantastic mom that has been supportive, so you possibly can acknowledge a sample with the sturdy dads that perceive racing and provides the precise help and proper stick, and the mom who’s making an attempt to be the good one within the relationship.
“That was 100% true for you and I feel we see that sample with the good ones. Humility is an enormous issue. Loyalty… As you possibly can think about, Kimi rising up and having sporting success a few of our opponents have been after him, particularly for nationality causes. Marco Antonelli has all the time been clear ‘you gave us the chance and that’s why we’re sticking with you’.
“Uncooked expertise, that he positively has. And a capability that you may’t prepare. As I mentioned, it’s simpler to make somebody settle down by way of aggressiveness than the opposite approach round… you possibly can’t make any person fast. Then it’s on us to attempt to assist, attempt to situation Kimi that each lap doesn’t have to be like this.
“James Allison really mentioned when he launched himself on the first lap [on Friday], the primary braking into the chicane he had each tires on the grass already. So the distinction between free observe and qualifying now we have to debate! However that’s additionally Kimi. He’s placing the automobile into the bottom and to have the ability to crush it – crush it, not crash it – on the primary lap is a superb potential.”
The following time F1 followers are prone to get to see that potential in an FP1 session appears set to be Mexico Metropolis, and by then Antonelli is prone to have developed even additional as he prepares for his race debut. It may not include the identical fanfare as Monza, however it will likely be a public show of the fast progress that Mercedes has seen ever since he joined the setup as a 12 yr outdated.
It’s a fast ascent and his rookie F1 season gained’t be with out its bumps within the highway, however Mercedes has been getting ready Antonelli for it for practically six years, and he’s proven the group the primary factor it needs to see – sensational tempo – each step of the way in which to date.
