During the Austrian Grand Prix, the Schonberghof Hotel is an unmissable destination. Located a few minutes walk from the entrance to the paddock, on a hill overlooking the Spielberg track, you can meet various Formula 1 personalities there.
The scenery changes completely when there is no racing on the circuit, as was the case on a Tuesday last April. Spring is coming very slowly in this region, the clothes are still warm and the atmosphere is reminiscent of the winter tests when they took place in Barcelona.
The restaurant at the Hotel Schonberghof is open and someone can be heard speaking Italian and English at one of the tables. Kimi Antonelli nonchalantly switches from his mother tongue to English to speak to Stéphane Guérin, Mercedes consultant at his side since his first steps in a single-seater.
“Wiener schnitzel for everyone?”asks Antonelli, and the table agrees unanimously. In twelve hours, he will get into a Formula 1 car for the first time, the Mercedes W12 that Lewis Hamilton drove during the crazy 2021 season.
In any career, there are days that mark you forever and that come unexpectedly. The first test behind the wheel of an F1, for all the drivers who had this opportunity, is a memory destined to remain engraved in their memory forever.
Kimi Antonelli with an engineer.
Photo de: Mercedes AMG
There’s no trace of nervousness in the air, probably his parents Marco and Veronica are masking it very well. Antonelli keeps his cool, he talks from his seat, “it looks very comfortable”remarks the young Italian, or the weather, “maybe I will have to do my first laps behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car with wet tires”he explains to his father and mother.
Antonelli does not yet know that it is not only rain that will accompany him during this first test, because in the afternoon snow will also appear. At the table, he devours his wiener schnitzel but does not indulge in sweets or drinks other than still water. His father Marco breaks the silence that had fallen by asking: “What did the engineers tell you?”. “The program will depend on the weather”replies Antonelli. “I was surprised to see them all very enthusiastic.”
On the eve of his first F1 test, Antonelli has already memorized the names of all the engineers he will work with. He asked Mercedes for a file containing all the personnel he would meet on the track, matching names with faces, a way of speeding up the integration process within the team.
As the dinner draws to a close, Antonelli recounts anecdotes about the Formula Regional season that ended only six months ago, and the difficulties he encountered during the first three weekends in Formula 2, at taken with a car that was not yet at the top. After a kiss to his parents, the 17-year-old then retires to his room.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli will drive with number 12 next year in F1.
Photo de: Mercedes AMG
The next day, it rains. When Antonelli opens the door to the Mercedes box at 8 a.m., he is disconcerted: “Are all these people here for me?”. There are no guests, only necessary staff, everything takes place behind closed doors. But for someone coming from the lower category paddocks, that’s a lot of people. For an F1 test, there are around 30 people in the pit, including engineers, mechanics, rangefinders, etc.
The exception is made for the author of these lines, an old promise made to Antonelli during his first season in single-seaters: “I want to be there the day you drive a Formula 1 car for the first time”. It was only a matter of time, but the young Italian knew how to set the pace.
He walks casually, greeting everyone and chatting, commenting on the amount of rain on the trail. “I think it’s really a lot.”he admits. “I hope I can ride, even with rain tires, but I want to go around”. At exactly 9 a.m., the engineers give him free rein: Antonelli puts on his helmet and slowly gets into the car.
Nine minutes later, the mechanics remove the heating blankets, the pressure builds and Antonelli’s hands shake a little. It is at this moment that the work of a life begins to take shape. It is only a sketch for the moment, but it is an indelible marker sketch. His father Marco, known for being a tough guy, can’t hide a hint of emotion, then puts everything aside and prepares to watch the clocks.
Antonelli finishes the first run, of just a few laps, followed by a quick debriefing with the engineers. It is impressive to see a 17-year-old young man respond so quickly and precisely to the questions of the engineers gathered around him. He then takes a break.
Kimi Antonelli during his first F1 test.
Photo de: Mercedes AMG
“It’s so cool… no matter how difficult the conditions are, you immediately feel that the more you push, the more the car sticks to the ground. When you come out of a corner, you realize that you could have go faster, and then the braking… the grip in the corners despite the wet tires, it’s crazy, mamma mia”explains Antonelli.
A brioche, an orange juice and back in the car. At the end of the second run, a smile appears on the faces of the engineers, especially that of Riccardo Musconi, the one in charge of the team carrying out the tests, originally from Imola. Antonelli is shown the on-board images downloaded from the camera placed on the car, and the young driver anticipates their remarks: “There, I think I went too far”he says, laughing, and the engineers, faced with his sincerity, can only nod.
We see how Antonelli’s expression becomes more serene as the tests progress. His hands no longer shake and he begins to enjoy the moment. Lunch break arrives and it starts to snow. Antonelli doesn’t want to stop. He takes the opportunity to ask if he can take a few laps in his father Marco’s road car.“What do you say, if I do a few tricks, will anyone get angry?”
Once he gets the green light, he gets in the car with his father sitting next to him and sets off onto the track. Marco Antonelli has worn a lot more tires than Kimi, an experience that allows him to give appropriate advice to his son, given the very difficult track conditions.
The two men exchange their opinions on the trajectories, the curbs to take and those to avoid, then Kimi arrives a little wide when braking for turn 4. His father anticipates the risk of ending up in the gravel trap and gives him a stern warning: “Be careful! We’re going to end up burying ourselves here and we’re going to have a bad face…”. Kimi laughs: “Looks like someone’s scared, huh?”
After a few laps, the tires having taken a good hit, the two men returned to the pits. The snow continues to fall and the program is postponed until the next day. “Did you see if my parents were excited?”asks Antonelli. Upon receiving an affirmative response, he admits that he was too: “You know, last night at dinner, maybe I didn’t realize it yet, but today… well, when [les ingénieurs] took the car down for the first run, it was a mix of tension and joy.”
Kimi Antonelli with her parents.
Photo de: Mercedes AMG
The rainy baptism is over. The parents say goodbye to their son and leave by car to go to the Mugello circuit, to manage the family team entered in the Italian Formula 4 championship.
Antonelli is preparing for the second day of testing, with the weather giving him some respite by finally allowing him to use slick tires for the first time. He smiles. At 17, Antonelli is a multifaceted young man. On the one hand the professional, capable of convincing Mercedes to grant him a very rare opportunity in the world of motorsport. On the other, a teenager who likes to stay in the background.
“You know what became clear to me after that day? I understood why there are a thousand people working so that a Formula 1 car can run on the track”he explains. “Oh, and send me the video you took while I scared my dad!”
Then he walks away, wearing a perfectly fitted black suit, to the last technical briefing of the day.
