12 months ago, Kimi Antonelli was still unable to race legally in Formula 1. Without special dispensation, the Italian was still just under two weeks of 18 and to get his FIA Super License.
But he already knew that in 2025 he would be a Mercedes driver.
After testing earlier car (TPC) that ran on Spa-Francorchamps prior to last year’s summer holidays, Antonelli stepped ahead in the racing pace that helped to convince Mercedes that he was worth throwing up as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli himself acknowledges that it was a bet, albeit a very methodically calculated, since he says that he has developed “massively” in the past year.
“I think of the steep curve of how much I have learned,” Antonelli reflects. “Already from last year when I went to the races with the team – although I did not participate, I was not driving, still to see and watch was a very good learning and also trying to understand how much work is behind it, not only on the rails, but also outside the track.
“So I feel that I have learned a lot and I also feel that I am much more in the hand of the situation, which I was sure when I was told about it.”
When Antonelli was announced, there was something that his now-teammate George Russell said. Russell made the point that the experience would help improve the groan, but it would not make him faster – that was an aspect that had to be in place.
“I think I have always believed that in the course of time you gain a lot with experience, in terms of how to deal with the racing weekend, the tires, the team, but I don’t believe I am at a pace pace faster today than when I was 17 years old,” said Russell.
“And I think you have the speed or that you don’t have the speed, and Kimi definitely has the speed. He has proven that in all his categories.”
Teammate George Russell has faith in the raw speed of Antonelli. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty images
Russell said there would be mistakes, and that is all part of the learning curve. Looking back now, Antonelli agrees that his raw speed has not changed, but says that his ability to treat other aspects of a Formula 1 director are areas he had to develop.
Mercedes did more than just give him TPC steps. There was a lot of integration into the team, both and roads of racing weekends, and also programs such as media training, where he was confronted for MOCK press conferences at the beginning of this year and broadcast pens. External professionals were brought in and interviewed Antonelli, where the 18-year-old looked back on his performances to understand body language and interactions.
That was after Mercedes Antonelli had already made media and sponsor obligations last year, so that he was exposed to some of the distractions that can drain for a driver. It is an area that the Rookie still admit that it has taken some time to identify himself so crucial.
“First of all, I think to take the time for myself [has been a big lesson]. I understood a bit late during this first half of the season, but it is something that is very crucial.
“I think that I need time for myself. I mainly need time to get ready and to get in the right mode, in the right mood, and to be as fresh as possible as I am back in the car.
“Because I have the feeling that there are a few races where I have not really managed things outside the track. And I let my battery indulge a bit. And when I went back into the car, I was not mentally fresh. I was quite tired and I just couldn’t do things the way I wanted to do them.
“Although I really did my best, I was just unable because I was mentally tired and I couldn’t do it.
“So I really understood that, especially if you get triplicate headers. The first triple header I did clearly was abroad. And for me it was much easier than the triple header in Europe. But because the second triple header in Europe started, I started my home race, of course I made the car of the car. But that was the car.
“I remember that I was finally already at the end of Friday, I was exhausted. I was exhausted and I knew it would have been difficult just because I was mentally tired. And that is why it wore a bit in the next few races. And that wasn’t easy. But now I understand much better.”
The next Triple header that will encounter Antonelli is the last three races of the season. That feels far away – and a big challenge from Las Vegas to a Qatar sprint and then Abu Dhabi – but somewhat ironically it has been the more well -known locations that have proved difficult for the Mercedes Protégé.
The first stage of his career in Canada offers an anomaly in the midst of a heavy European series of races, one that only resulted in a first point on the continent with tenth place in Budapest.
“I also think that in the European season I have put a bit of unnecessary pressure on myself, just because of course I rode on routes that I already knew.
“That’s why I felt in songs that I didn’t know, I performed much better, just because I had no expectation and I just drove naturally and then saw what was going on, what would come.
“And when I had in European races, I was:” Okay, it’s a song that I know I have to do well. ” But then this made me tense and not relaxed and with more pressure, and that also influenced the performance. “
A highlight has been the stage of Antonelli in Motreal. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty images
In many ways, it has so far created a strange flow to the year. Antonelli was impressive early in the beginning, but a suspension -upgrade that made the car more difficult to drive in Imola, coincided with his own errors with regard to increased expectations and pressure, and a decline in results. Antonelli takes a step back and says that the year has still delivered higher highlights than it would have predicted at this stage, but his focus is now on achieving that standard more often and knowing how he did it.
“I think I certainly surpassed what I expected in some ways. I certainly did not expect that I would get pole so early or to get the podium. Of course the mindset is always to go there and win – you clearly go to the season, you are super excited and you are when you start to see and you start working and you start working and you you work and you work and you work you and you work you.
“So absolutely, in some respects I have exceeded my expectations, although the goal is always the same, a bit wins. In other ways I have the feeling that I underperform it. And I think that in some weekends I have even been a bit too conservative in the approach, because I clearly try to get as many kilometers as possible to do as much as possible.
“It is as if you have a lock. And I have the feeling that I have not been able to unleash my full potential. Now that I have experienced the situation more in my hand, I am trying to have a different approach and try to explore it more now. And if the mistake happens, it is good, as long as I have a better understanding of where the limit will be just how the limit can be, then how the limit can pushen.
“But in the situation in which I am now, I still don’t know how much more the car can give. I know the car can give me quite a bit more, but I don’t know how much more. So the thing I am trying to do now is trying to explore this limit more.
“So it’s a bit of a less conservative approach and try to push more to get more ready for qualification, because I have the feeling that I recently came to qualify with too many question marks.”
Looking for those answers is not an easy task, because Antonelli says it is fair to describe it as trying to find the key to that lock.
“Yes, exactly – I think that when it comes to qualifying. Of course I learn and I experience, but I think that when it comes to racepemité, I feel much more … I don’t feel that I have this lock. Of course I am not complete, but I am much closer. In qualifying I still find this key to unlock the full potential.”
It is a challenge that Mercedes and Antonelli knew that they would be confronted in his Rookie season, and the patience that both team and driver are approaching it gives him every chance to open the door for consistent versions rather than later.
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