Very young and above all very ambitious, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Italian, barely 18 years old, is actively preparing for his first season in Formula 1, he who will have the difficult task of replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025 with only one Formula 2 season under his belt. Present at most Grands Prix in the German team's garage, the Bologna native continued to learn alongside the mechanics and engineers at the end of the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. “Kimi” also took part in post-season testing aboard the Mercedes W15 at the Yas Marina track.
The one who is presented as the future superstar of Formula 1 must already face enormous media pressure, but also sporting pressure. His arrival in the premier category at just 18 years old is intriguing and obviously, the expectations around Andrea Kimi Antonelli are already very high. However, the Italian does not seem perturbed, at least outwardly. On the contrary, he is already aiming very high for his rookie season in the discipline.
Antonelli, play it like Hamilton?
“I feel ready for F1, declared the future pilot of the Silver Arrows during the Festival dello Sport in Italy last October. In terms of speed, I think it won't be a problem. The only thing that will take a lot of work is understanding how to manage the race weekend in the best possible way and learning all the procedures. So there will be a lot to learn, but I feel ready. »
“Of course, winning a few races would be a dream. It won't be easy because all the teams have competitive cars but that's my first objective. Even a few podiums would be welcome, but the main goal is to bring home victories. »
A very ambitious goal for Andrea Kimi Antonelli: in fact, the last to have achieved this feat in Formula 1 was none other than Lewis Hamilton, who won four Grands Prix in his first season with McLaren, in 2007. At the time , the British team was the only one with Ferrari that could legitimately win races. Not sure that this will be the case in 2025, since at present, four teams can claim victory, and the situation could continue next year. However, we can't blame Andrea Kimi Antonelli for not being ambitious enough… but be careful not to see yourself as too good-looking either!
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