Andrea Kimi Antonelli has revealed his goals for his rookie season in Formula 1 next year, which he will contest with Mercedes.
The 18-year-old Italian who will replace Lewis Hamilton at the Silver Arrows in 2025 says he will not “not yet realized” which is happening to him, he who was still in FRECA (Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine) last year.
“Being an official driver next year is something I haven’t achieved yet,” said Andrea Kimi Antonelli during the Festival dello Sport in comments transcribed by Motorsport.com Italy.
“I’m realizing it little by little, but I think I won’t realize it until I’m on the starting grid in Melbourne. But I’m very happy, it’s a dream come true.”
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Antonelli ambitious, feels “ready for F1”
Antonelli says he is ready for the challenge that awaits him, while admitting to having “a lot to learn”.
“I feel ready for F1,” he announces. “In terms of speed, I think it will not be a problem and the only thing where there will be a lot of work to do will be to understand how to manage the weekend in the best possible way and also to learn all the procedures. So there will be a lot to learn, but I feel ready.”
The current sixth in F2 at the wheel of his Prema is already ambitious for his debut in F1 in a context where he will, it seems, have the chance to be directly in a single-seater that can compete for victories.
“Of course winning a few races would be a dream,” added Antonelli. “It won’t be easy, because all the teams have a competitive car, so it will be very difficult, but that’s my first goal.”
“A few podiums would also be good, but the main goal is to get a few victories.”
Antonelli recounts the decisive test at Spa
Andrea Kimi Antonelli also detailed how he convinced Mercedes to field it from 2025, notably via a conclusive test carried out at Spa.
“In the private tests, one of the things that impressed them was how quickly I reached the limit, how quickly I got to the times that they set,” Antonelli revealed.
“I have to say that the factor I struggled with the most during testing was race pace. However, during the last two days of testing at Spa, I significantly improved my race pace, which convinced them to sign with me.”
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