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Kimi Antonelli speaks about the pressure he’s faced since the announcement that he’s stepping up to F1 and what he still has to do in F2.
Two weeks ago, after months of speculation, Mercedes AMG officially announced that Kimi Antonelli would be replacing Lewis Hamilton at their team in 2025.
The 18 year-old is in his rookie season of Formula 2, having made the jump straight from the Formula Regional European Championship. With rumours that he’d be in Formula 1 by 2025 starting even before the start of the Formula 2 season, there’s been a lot of pressure for Antonelli to perform.
It wasn’t an ideal start to the season for the young Italian driver, who had to wait until the eighth round of the championship to score his first podium finish (a Sprint Race win in Silverstone). He currently sits sixth in the standings, impressive when you consider his lack of experience but considering the fact that he’s headed to Formula 1 next year, some have argued he hasn’t been impressive enough.
Formula 2 is racing in Baku this weekend, a track that was brand new to Antonelli at the beginning of the weekend. But he finished third in Free Practice, before going on to qualify second just 0.017s behind Richard Verschoor.
Speaking to select media, including FormulaNerds, after the session, Antonelli admitted that it’s been a busy couple of weeks following his official Formula 1 announcement.
“I have to say Monza was not really a nice weekend, on the mental side it was really hard,” he commented. “But just to have the announcement finally official was a big relief. Overall it’s been two busy weeks, because I’m already trying to work with Mercedes closely, just to understand and learn a few things.
“I’m going to also do some trackside as well, in the future, just to see how a full race weekend works. But yeah, it’s been two pretty intense weeks but now I feel much better on the mental side, now that the announcement is finally official.”
Formula 2 season
Despite having secured the lifelong dream of a top Formula 1 seat at Mercedes for next year, Antonelli still has to finish out the Formula 2 season.
He’s achieved two race wins, but has yet to take his first pole position, and currently sits outside the top five in the championship.
FormulaNerds asked Antonelli whether he felt like he still had something to prove in Formula 2, despite the fact that he’s guaranteed to make the jump to Formula 1.
“Of course, jumping from FRECA to F2 I had all the eyes on me,” he answered. “Plus with the talking about me stepping up, for sure it brought a lot of pressure. But I still think I deliver pretty well, even though on a few occasions I didn’t do a good job.
“But I’m still learning in F2, I’m still developing, and I still have something to show. So I think I still have something to prove, especially in qualifying. I really want to get the first pole position. I’ve been close in Melbourne and close today, so I think I still have a few things to prove.”
Antonelli will be looking for his third race win of the season on Sunday, when he’ll be starting second for the Feature Race in Baku.
Feature Image Credit: Joe Portlock – Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images