“We were dealing with someone special”: Mercedes insider touches on Kimi Antonelli’s fasttrack route to F1 grid

Mercedes' newest addition to their driver lineup, Kimi Antonelli, has had an accelerated growth through the competitive racing world on his way to his newest role as an F1 driver for the multi-championship winning team. Antonelli impressed early, according to Mercedes' driver development advisor Gwen Lagrue, who brought on Antonelli to be a part of the Brackley-based team at the age of 11, giving him a start in the field of go-karting in 2017.

Four years later, the 15-year-old Antonelli would make his debut in the world of Formula championships, with a spot in the Italian Grand Prix. In 2022, Kimi Antonelli would secure two titles with Prema Racing, coming from his performance in the Italian and German F4 championships.

The year after that, he would make his debut in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA), achieving another championship victory. Last year, the now 18-year-old would skip competing in F3, going straight into F2 and achieve two wins and three podiums, giving him finish of 6th place in the championship.

In an interview with Motorsport.com, Gwen Lagrue says that before all this success, he got a sense of the exceptional nature of the young driver in one of their first testing sessions.

"[W]hen we did the first test in single-seaters, the way he adapted himself so quickly to pretty much every situation you started seeing that you have someone very special."

Lagrue does also accept that even though Kimi Antonelli showed potential, there was still room to grow.

"Of course, that doesn't mean he has everything. You still need to work a lot to help him to grow, to guide him, to also let him make mistakes. It's part of the learning process."

The development advisor also gave some background to the Italian driver's rise through the ranks in the Formula championships, with Antonelli re-affirming the fact that he was worthy of his promotions.

"So, when Kimi did perform that well in FRECA, I was not super convinced at that time that first going to F3 will develop him more, and I wanted also to put himself In a situation where eventually he could face more challenges, and sending him to F2, of course, it required a bit of preparation," Lagrue said.

"So by doing that, we were making sure that first he will learn the new F2 with the idea of eventually doing another year of F2 if it was challenging, or depending on the situation in F1, make sure that at least we will accelerate his preparation to Formula 1. Of course, he was confirming what we were thinking series after series, let's say," he added.

Kimi Antonelli's debut F1 race will be the season-opener in Melbourne, Australia in March.

George Russell says Kimi Antonelli "does not have the experience yet"

George Russell speaks at the Fan Forum with a photo of himself and teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli before the Sprint Race of the Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix on October 19, 2024, - Source: Getty

Kimi Antonelli's first full F1 season will be alongside George Russell, as the 18-year-old takes Lewis Hamilton's spot on the Mercedes team after his departure to Ferrari. Russell, who has been racing in F1 for the last six years, with his last three seasons spent with the Brackley-based team, has recently given his thoughts on his new teammate.

In a recent interview with Mercedes, the Briton has said that while his new teammate isn't experienced enough, he will adapt quickly.

“He is such a fantastic driver. He does not have the experience yet, but I am sure he will be up to speed very quickly,” Russell said.

Speaking also about how Antonelli is adjusting to the team dynamics, Russell has said that his age isn't a deterrent from him having a seat at the table.

“He has already integrated so well. We have both been racing from a young age and we know what needs to be fed back to the team. He is young, but his opinion will be just as valid,” the Brit said. [via Mercedes]

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, alongside team principal Toto Wolff, will introduce the Mercedes' 2025 car's livery at the F1 75 event taking place on 18th February.