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Kimi Antonelli recalled the incident when he got to meet his namesake, and a champion F1 driver, Kimi Raikkonen. It was back in 2018, when Antonelli was just 11 years old, and it was around the same time when Antonelli understood why people called Raikkonen the 'Iceman.'
Raikkonen, a former F1 champion (winner of the 2007 F1 title), raced in the most premium form of Motorsport from 2001 to 2021. During this time, he racked up 353 race starts, 21 wins, 18 pole positions, and 103 podiums to his name.
On the other hand, his namesake, a young Antonelli, made his debut in F1 this season for Mercedes. With this, he became the third youngest F1 driver to debut in the sport after Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll.
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Antonelli, the Italian prodigy, met the Finnish driver in Italy when the latter was in Monza for the 2018 Italian Grand Prix. Speaking about how the ordeal went for him as he saw the Iceman, here's what the Silver Arrows driver said as per F1.com,
“I met him when I was quite little – I think it was 2018,” Antonelli recalled. “He was doing the Monza GP."
“And, you know, the first time I met him I understood why they call him the Iceman, to be honest, because I remember going to him super excited and he had completely no reaction! But I think he's such a cool dude.”
Raikkonen retired from the sport at the end of the 2021 season, after a short stint with Alfa Romeo. He is mostly known for his stints with Ferrari, when he pipped the McLaren duo of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, and his teammate Felipe Massa to win the 2007 title.
Kimi Antonelli questioned Mercedes' strategy at Bahrain: "A bit confusing"
Kimi Antonelli questioned Mercedes' strategy after the Italian prodigy failed to finish within points at the recently concluded Bahrain GP. Antonelli started the race from P6, but in the end, came home in P11, a place behind the point distributing slot.
After the race, the 18-year-old pointed out the miscalculated strategy pulled off by the Silver Arrows and termed it confusing. Here's what he said about it in the post-race interview, via F1.com,
"It’s a bit confusing because obviously it’s the first time I got undercut, and that was fine, I was expecting it."
"But obviously when I put the softs on after the medium, we did two laps and then there was the Safety Car. I felt I could have stayed out, with the Safety Car, the tires would have cooled down anyway, and with a bit more free air, it would have been a different story."
Notably, Kimi Antonelli pitted thrice, whereas the majority of the drivers pitted twice and held on to their position. One extra pit stop, even though Antonelli felt he was fine with two, put him at the back of the pack, and by the time the race ended, he had to go home empty-handed.
