F1 prospect Kimi Antonelli’s future with Mercedes, particularly with the likely contract in 2025 may have not been announced yet, but no other driver carries the weight of expectations other than the Italian prospect.
Turning 18 on the Dutch Grand Prix Sunday, looking back, Antonelli has but an ordinary academy driver career, having been catapulted from Formula Regional to an F2 seat. All the while being cultivated into being the future of Mercedes after 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
However, Mercedes is slated to fast-track the signing of Antonelli as Hamilton made a shock switch to Ferrari, which caught everyone off-guard, even team principal Toto Wolff.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, the 17-year-old hasn’t forgotten to reflect back on his journey as an academy driver.
Talking about the prospect of being an F1 rookie, the Italian isn’t scared of being judged, nor is he taking anything for granted.
“Some degree of worry I think is always there, the prospect of not being able to perform I think frightens everyone. My approach is to see it as a great opportunity to learn, grow and also enjoy the moment.”
“I’m not afraid of being judged, I know Mercedes has a clear opinion about my potential, already this season in F2 the championship didn’t kick off in the best way but there were no negative thoughts.
“I am quite calm, if the opportunity presented itself to me I would take it with eagerness and try to make the most of it.
“Recently there has been some pressure on me with all the rumours about next year, but I have always tried to enjoy it. I’m enjoying the opportunities I have.
Despite a rocky start to his 2024 F2 season, partly due to PREMA Racing’s overall troubles which also affected his teammate, future Haas F1 driver Ollie Bearman, his maiden campaign yielded 2 wins, which puts him comfortably at 7th place.
While F2 is a good training ground for handling the pressure of competition, Mercedes gauges Antonelli’s progress as a driver with private testing on two-year old machinery.
The Mercedes Academy driver recounted the excitement he had after being told when he will be seated for pre-season testing.
“During pre-season testing in Bahrain I was told the dates and at that point I said to myself, ‘Well, you’re really going to drive an F1 car!’ It was a very, very special moment, because there was a day and a track, in black on white,”
His maiden two-day test was back in April at the Red Bull Ring, driving the 2021 W12, that won Mercedes’ last constructor’s championship to date. Later on, he drove the 2022-spec W13, being a ground effect car that is similar to the current regulations as of late.
“It was a really great experience,” recounting his maiden F1 test.
“I carried that excitement with me through the first lap too, even if the conditions were not the best, it was raining and in the afternoon it even snowed!”
“Then on the second day the track improved and in the dry the performance emerged; power, deceleration, aerodynamic load. It was crazy.
“When I arrived at the track I just opened the door of the garage and was shocked to see how many people were there, both engineers and mechanics, all to run a single car.
“And you have to be able to answer and provide a lot of information when they ask you questions. It took me a while to get used to it, but now everything already seems normal to me.
Being able to drive an F1 car is one thing, but finding the limit of the machine inside a bottomless pit of performance is another. Which dawned on Kimi as he tested through the corners in Silverstone.
“Unbelievable,” he chuckles, “You think it’s not possible, then when you try it and see that the car stays in it, you say…man, there’s still a margin!
“An F1 car gives you a lot of confidence, and one difficulty I ran into was finding the limit. Every time I ask for a bit more, the car gives it to me. The moment will come when I will understand that there is nothing more to squeeze out, that will be the limit, but it is a very narrow window.
“I am aware that the margin for error is very thin. But the more the confidence with the car grows, the more comfortable I feel.”
Reminiscent of how Red Bull driver Max Verstappen skipped F2 entirely and being the youngest driver to join the Formula 1 grid, and subsequently being the youngest grand prix winner to date. Antonelli says that he ensures that he won’t be taking is F2 success for granted as he wasn’t expecting on skipping F3 entirely.
“No, because I never expected to go straight into F2, When they informed me that this was the plan, I thought it would be a big jump, because you usually go to F3 first, but at the same time the challenge was immediately appealing to me.”
“I didn’t plan on coming to F2 and winning everything, I was always aware that the jump from Formula Regional would be very challenging and I was aware that I had a lot to learn, which I am still doing.
I am also very happy with the relationship I have [with Wolff]. In difficult moments I ask him for advice and he always looks for a way to give me confidence.
“I’ll give you an example. After the disappointing qualifying in Silverstone I called him because it was a bit of a tough time. We talked a lot and that conversation gave me back my confidence, and the next day I won and it was really nice to see him under the podium.
“When you go through difficult times, I think you come out stronger in the end, also in terms of attitude. Silverstone and Budapest confirmed it.”
As much as all the stars align for the Italian driver, with him being trusted to become the future of Mercedes, and him being keen on that opportunity as well. Antonelli doesn’t want to skip ahead, and says that dreams are still dreams until they become reality.
“I’m very happy to be considered, but I’m not asking for anything, At the moment my goal is to do well in Formula 2, then we’ll see.
“I still see it as a dream. Yes, I did happen to think about it, but it is a passing thought.
“In all honesty I can tell you that for me today it is still a dream. We’ll see if it comes true.”
