Watch: Mercedes future prospect Kimi Antonelli spotted with Italian MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi

Mercedes prodigy Kimi Antonelli recently ventured into the world of MotoGP, where he met a legend of the sport, Valentino Rossi. Antonelli was a guest in the Aprilia garage for the 2024 San Marino GP in Italy, and it was during this time that he had the opportunity to meet Rossi.

Antonelli made full use of the week-long break in Formula 1, Formula 2, and lower series following the Italian Grand Prix. The series will resume in Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Already in Italy for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the 18-year-old attended the MotoGP Grand Prix at Misano Adriatico, the venue for the race.

As seen in the video, Rossi and Antonelli shared a warm embrace and handshake on the track just before the Sprint race. MotoGP's official X account shared a video of the moment with the caption,

"A star-studded grid indeed. 😍 @ValeYellow 🤝 Kimi Antonelli. #SanMarinoGP."

Here's a look at the video:

Antonelli, a guest of Aprilia Racing at the Grand Prix, was seen engaged in conversation with Massimo Rivola, the team principal. He was there to support the Aprilia drivers, Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaró.

However, Marc Marquez of Gresini Racing MotoGP secured the race victory, followed by the Ducati Lenovo Team duo of Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini. Vinales finished in P16, while Espargaro suffered a DNF.

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Kimi Antonelli's eventful outing at Italian F1 GP

Kimi Antonelli drives the (12) Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team F1 W15 during the Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d'Italia 2024 (Image via Getty Images)

Mercedes announced Kimi Antonelli as Lewis Hamilton's replacement starting from the 2025 season. The talented Italian, sporting the number 12, will partner with George Russell and compete under the leadership of Toto Wolff at the Silver Arrows.

Speaking about his upcoming opportunity with Mercedes, the 18-year-old said,

"Obviously, it’s something I’ve been dreaming of since a very young age. To finally be announced as a driver for 2025 is such a great feeling. I cannot wait to get started.”

The Brackley-based team announced Antonelli as their second driver for 2025 during the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, his home race. As part of the announcement, they entrusted him with the FP1 session, giving him a taste of the W-15 at the Temple of Speed. Unfortunately, the test did not go as planned.

Within 10 minutes of the FP1 session, the F2 driver crashed the W-15 at high speed. Antonelli entered the Parabolica with excessive speed, lost control of the car, and collided directly with the tire barrier. Fortunately, he was able to avoid injury ahead of his F2 race later that weekend.