"Recently, there has been some pressure on me": Mercedes prospect Kimi Antonelli opens up on talks about his future

Mercedes prospect Kimi Antonelli has said that there has been pressure to perform, with reports making the rounds about his future. The young Italian has been in the spotlight for a few years when it comes to performance on track. It's not often that a teenager is earmarked as early as Antonelli is for a future in F1.

He was scouted very early in his career by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and has been a part of the team's junior program. The spotlight on Antonelli started shining brightly very early in 2024 when Lewis Hamilton announced his move to Ferrari in 2025. That left a vacancy in the squad and brought attention to Kimi Antonelli as a prospect.

With Toto Wolff claiming that Antonelli is a star for the future and the Italian skipping F3 and jumping straight into F2, expectations were high. Antonelli has not had the best of rookie seasons, with the fault partly lying with his team Prema struggling to adapt to the new regulations.

With the young Italian not getting the results, there were conversations around his future and suggestions that Mercedes could give him another year in F2. Those conversations have ended now, as he has won two races in the last three events.

With reports suggesting it's a mere formality that the Italian will get the Mercedes seat for 2025, Kimi Antonelli has also revealed that there was a time when he felt the pressure. Talking to Motorsport.com, the driver said:

"Some degree of worry I think is always there, the prospect of not being able to perform I think frightens everyone. My approach is to see it as a great opportunity to learn, grow and also enjoy the moment.

"I'm not afraid of being judged, I know Mercedes has a clear opinion about my potential, already this season in F2 the championship didn't kick off in the best way, but there were no negative thoughts."

He added:

"I am quite calm, if the opportunity presented itself to me I would take it with eagerness and try to make the most of it. Recently, there has been some pressure on me with all the rumours about next year, but I have always tried to enjoy it. I'm enjoying the opportunities I have."

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Kimi Antonelli opens up on his experience of driving the Mercedes F1 car

Kimi Antonelli has had the opportunity to drive the Mercedes F1 cars of yesteryears in an attempt to get himself acclimated to the highest echelon of motorsports.

The young Italian has performed multiple private tests and explained how all of them were a surreal experience for him. He said:

"It was a really great experience. I carried that excitement with me through the first lap too, even if the conditions were not the best, it was raining and in the afternoon it even snowed!

"Then, on the second day, the track improved, and, in the dry, the performance emerged; power, deceleration, aerodynamic load. It was crazy."

He added:

"When I arrived at the track I just opened the door of the garage and was shocked to see how many people were there, both engineers and mechanics, all to run a single car.

"And you have to be able to answer and provide a lot of information when they ask you questions. It took me a while to get used to it, but now everything already seems normal to me."

Kimi Antonelli is racing in F2 now, where he's seventh in the championship. He would have hoped for a better result, but a lack of form from Prema has also contributed to the standings.

Kimi Antonelli has four race weekends left, so it will be interesting to see what kind of impact he can make in the limited time available to him in F2 before he makes the eventual jump to F1.