It’s honest 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, after all, 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 12 months 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 obligatory FP1 classes with a rookie driver per the laws, so what higher strategy to announce Antonelli’s 2025 race seat than at his residence grand prix weekend after he had simply made his first look within the 2024 automotive?
Antonelli’s Monza apply outing was temporary, however it left an impression. Zak Mauger/Motorsport Photographs
All of it made good sense, and for about 9 minutes of that apply 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 automotive and drive it near its restrict immediately.
Consider the best way that Max Verstappen so typically seems to be to be pushing more durable than virtually anybody else from the very first lap of a race weekend: It’s a trait that most 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 prime of the occasions – Hamilton himself having simply set his lap – to a particularly heavy influence within the Parabolica tire barrier.
“We’d moderately have an issue in slowing him down than making him quicker,” Toto Wolff stated 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 automotive so early in his first outing, was well-placed. Clearly it served Wolff and Mercedes to stop the narrative turning into essential or questioning of his strategy, given the information that was to comply with the following day. But in addition, at 18 years previous, such an incident may have a serious 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 12 months – a leap of two classes in simply his third full season of automotive racing. Why? As a result of the primary 12 months 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 Photographs
So when pushing him so rapidly in the direction of F1, Mercedes knew there can be a steep studying curve required. And it turned even steeper given Prema – who he has pushed for all through his junior profession – has endured a a lot harder F2 season than anticipated, struggling considerably with a brand new automotive.
However that has meant Antonelli has wanted to hone his racecraft otherwise 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 attempting to hold on across the outdoors of a gaggle of vehicles and retired. It was an indication of his inexperience – coping with the influence of visitors on the F2 automotive’s aerodynamics and the Albert Park grip ranges – however not one thing to be criticized, as he discovered from the scenario rapidly.
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 sooner or later after his first win within the Dash race, and two begins earlier than his debut Function race win in Hungary.
So the crash on Friday in Monza might 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 rapidly. Rookies will make pricey errors, however it’s Antonelli’s uncooked velocity 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 workforce member put it, “there’s a deeper love” past simply driver and boss.
Mercedes and workforce principal Toto Wolff have guided Antonelli by his junior profession, very like they did together with his future teammate George Russell. Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Photographs
“You’ll be able to’t speak about your self since you come throughout like a t***!” Wolff stated 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 every part about racing that it’s worthwhile to know as a driver and outdoors.
“[His father, Marco] has been with Kimi straight from the get-go. [He has a] great, great mom that has been supportive, so you may acknowledge a sample with the sturdy dads that perceive racing and provides the best help and proper stick, and the mom who’s attempting to be the great one within the relationship.
“That was 100% true for you and I feel we see that sample with the nice ones. Humility is an enormous issue. Loyalty… As you may 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 you could’t prepare. As I stated, it’s simpler to make somebody settle down when it comes to aggressiveness than the opposite approach round… you may’t make anyone fast. Then it’s on us to attempt to assist, attempt to situation Kimi that each lap doesn’t must be like this.
“James Allison really stated 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 apply and qualifying we’ve got to debate! However that’s additionally Kimi. He’s placing the automotive into the bottom and to have the ability to crush it – crush it, not crash it – on the primary lap is a superb means.”
The subsequent time F1 followers are more likely to get to see that means in an FP1 session seems to be set to be Mexico Metropolis, and by then Antonelli is more likely 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 speedy progress that Mercedes has seen ever since he joined the setup as a 12 12 months previous.
It’s a speedy ascent and his rookie F1 season received’t be with out its bumps within the street, however Mercedes has been making ready Antonelli for it for almost six years, and he’s proven the workforce the primary factor it needs to see – sensational tempo – each step of the best way thus far.
