Kimi Antonelli's first taste of F1 did not go as planned as the Italian driver crashed against the barrier within 10 minutes into FP1. While there wasn't significant damage to the W-15, it surely wasn't an ideal start to the session. However, Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, stepped up to alleviate the young driver's concerns, informing him that everything was normal, and he did not need to worry about the crash.
Antonelli was in control of George Russell's car for the first session in front of his home crowd. He was driving the Silver Arrows' car to cover the Brackley-based team's mandatory young driver sessions. However, 10 minutes into FP1, Antonelli lost control of the W-15 at Parabolica and slammed directly against the tire barrier. The W-15's front wing and bodywork on the right suffered slight damage, but the Italian driver was reportedly fine.
Soon after the crash, he confirmed on the radio that he was all right after the race engineer asked him about his state. To which Antonelli replied that he was fine, and he was "sorry" for the unintentional spin and the crash. Following this, Wolff took to the radio, and affirmed,
"Kimi, all good. All good, Kimi."
The Italian prodigy had all the limelights on him as paddock chatters suggested the F2 driver as the successor to Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next season. While neither Wolff nor Antonelli were in a hurry to wrap up the contract as yet, the 2024 Italian GP FP1 turned out as their primary lookout.
While crashes are financially dangerous for teams as they incur significant monetary charges amid a strict budget cap situation, the Silver Arrows' boss' response indeed boosted the F2 prodigy's confidence.
Before his crash, Kimi Antonelli clocked 1:23.955 on the timesheet and was placed in P20 in the FP1 qualification. Surprisingly, this was the second crash in two days at Monza after the F1 Safety Car crashed on Thursday at the same corner.
How did the Italian GP FP1 turn out after Kimi Antonelli's crash?
Drivers' Championship leader Max Verstappen topped Friday's FP1 session at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix. The Red Bull star set 1:21.676 on the timesheet and was ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.
Leclerc clocked 1.21.904 on the timesheet and was two-tenths slower than Verstappen. Norris managed P3 with 1:21.917, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Valtteri Bottas.
Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, and Fernando Alonso completed the top 10 of FP1. FP2 is also scheduled for Friday at 05:00 PM local time.