Kimi Antonelli has kicked off his Formula 1 career with two competitive drives to fourth and sixth place in Australia and China, all under the guidance of Peter Bonnington.
The Italian had to battle the chaos of a wet and dry thriller at Albert Park and recovered to the cusp of the podium in P4 after a spin at Turn 4.
Sixth place followed at the Shanghai International Circuit as Antonelli lagged behind his teammate George Russell but navigated through a Sprint weekend well.
The 18-year-old has been working with Peter Bonnington, who worked with Lewis Hamilton for 12 years and contributed to six of his world championships. ‘Bono’ was also on Michael Schumacher’s of the garage during the German’s time at the team, getting promoted to the race engineer position in 2011.
Kimi Antonelli is ‘lucky’ to work with Peter Bonnington
Antonelli has looked very composed behind the wheel despite a lot of expectations due to a strong junior career and replacing Hamilton at Mercedes.
He drove well to sixth in China and Antonelli was praised by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after managing a damaged car since the start of the race.
The relationship between the driver and engineer is critical to success. Clear communication and an understanding of how to maximise each other’s strengths are essential.
Antonelli reaffirmed that he is getting on well with Bonnington as the driver brings some Italian flair to such a succesful team.
He said in a print media session: “We get along pretty well. I’m bringing some Italian culture into place. Also, I’m a guy who likes to hug people.
“As Italians, we’re very touchy, we’re very emotional. So I’m bringing a bit into that. Not too much, of course, because we’re still in a professional environment.
“But I’m getting along very well with him. And I feel very lucky to have someone like him, because he has so much experience. He has worked with Michael, he has worked with Lewis for so many years.”
The 18-year-old added that he has a lot of new things to learn but has full confidence in Bonnington’s ability to assist him.
“And having someone that has so much experience and so much knowledge really helped me. Because I’m the one who has to learn so much. I have so many scenarios to face, so many new things to learn.
“And having someone that has gone through all that already really helps you. Because I know he will be able to guide me in every situation. So definitely, we got along pretty well.”
The Japanese Grand Prix presents another unique challenge for Kimi Antonelli
The Japanese Grand Prix hosts the third round of the world championship at Suzuka, which is yet another new circuit for Mercedes’ Italian driver.
He has shown a very good ability to adapt to new tracks in F1 and has been immediately on the pace at new venues in his brief junior career.
