After long months of waiting to finally know the name of Lewis Hamilton’s replacement, Mercedes has made its decision, announcing the arrival of its nugget, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, as starter for the 2025 F1 campaign. Under the wing of the German manufacturer’s junior sector, the Bologna native was impressive in the lower categories, winning everything in his path. The latter went from Freca to F2, without going through Formula 3, an important step in the training of a young driver. This year, he is involved with the Italian structure, Prema, where he scored two victories during the British and Hungarian Grand Prix. For the first time in his career, the little prodigy made his first appearance during free practice 1 at Monza. But this session was quickly cut short by his exit from the track in the Parabolique bend, a few minutes after the start of the session.
“The question is mental”
Franz Tost, former team principal of the Racing Bulls team, gave the Italian driver some advice before he arrived in the premier category of motorsport. During his career, Tost was able to discover and manage several big names in the discipline such as Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. In an interview for the official F1 website, the former elder of the paddock supported his remarks on the importance of managing pressure as a rookie, particularly on the media image.
“The speed is there, we see it. It’s always a bit difficult for a young driver to break into a factory team. Especially in a team like Mercedes, because we’re really focused there, but I’m sure Toto [Wolff, patron de Mercedes] and his team will prepare him in the best possible way for the next season. From a driving point of view, I think there is absolutely no problem for him. He’s fast, he’s very competent and he’s going to put in a good performance. The question is mental, because as a young F1 driver you have to work with a lot of different parts. The technical side, the chassis engineering, the engine engineering, the aerodynamic engineering, all the data engineers, and that means there are a lot of questions that come up. You also have to take care of marketing and the press, which is a lot for a young driver. Teams must always be careful not to overload young drivers, so that on Sunday, when the red lights go out, they are not tired. Just enjoy being an F1 driver, be focused and do your job!”
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In Brief
Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be a Mercedes driver from next season, alongside George Russell. Impressive in the lower categories, the Italian driver is now ready for F1. Franz Tost, former team principal of Racing Bulls, gave some advice to the young prodigy.
