Kimi Antonelli, new king of F1: “My father didn’t want me to be a driver so that I wouldn’t face the same disappointments as him. It was very hard for him to accept all this and he wanted to protect me, but he saw my passion and let me try”
When you talk to someone in the paddock about Andrea Kimi Antonellithe most normal thing is for him to smile. He is a kind, smiling, approachable guy and it is impossible to find someone in F1 who doesn’t like him. Even among the pilots he is someone very loved, whom everyone supports. It generates empathy and tenderness, even though when he puts on the helmet, he is the opposite, a ‘killer’.
I remember standing outside the press room last year at Silverstone and seeing Kimi sitting on a ladder of the Mercedes truck, next to his father. He seemed worried. I had just left Austria due to a crash and his first year was being irregular. At his side, his father, Marco Antonellihis great support, was chatting with him in a moment full of pressure. Months later, he was crushing it in F1 and surpassing any record of precocity. And in that comeback, Marco was crucial, as was his mental strength.
He is my rock and my support along with my mother and my family. They know how to carry me in certain situations. My father is the one who has taught me everything about racing and life
“He is my rock and my support along with my mother and my family. They know how to take me in certain situations. My father is the one who has taught me everything about racing and life,” he said weeks ago about Marco, who when his son was little, was opposed to the idea of him being a driver.
“When I was little he didn’t want me to compete, because this can be a very cruel sport and financially very complicated. If you don’t have the right support, you won’t make it. Without Mercedes we would not have arrived. When he was competing, he faced this reality and could not move forward due to lack of support. He didn’t want me to face the same disappointments as him. It was very hard for him to accept all this and he wanted to protect me, but he saw my passion and let me try.“, highlighted Kimi who got into a kart for the first time at the age of 5. At the age of 8 he debuted in competition. But there was a day when his father realized that his son was different.
Marco, who had founded his own GT and karting team, let him get driving a racing Lamborghini on the Adria circuit at the age of 10. He had to get in the same seat, behind his son, so that the little one could reach the steering wheel and the pedals. “He piloted in my arms and there I understood that he could stand out”. It didn’t fail.
He drove a racing Lamborghini when he was 10 years old, in my arms. There I understood that I could stand out
Kimi also wanted to highlight the figure of his grandfather: “He has been very important. Unfortunately, he is not here with me today, but he can surely see me from up there,” he said on ‘DAZN’.
Mercedes invested around 15 million in its training
Mercedes was key in its development. It is estimated that since he was signed at the age of 12those of the star have invested about 15 million euros in its training, above all, with the test program on an F1 in 2024, preparing it for its final jump. Did 9,000 km of tests (distance equivalent to about 30 races) with several old F1s.
A privileged mind and a surprising ability
His name is a champion, but it has nothing to do with the 2007 king. “It doesn’t refer to Raikkonen. It was proposed by a family friend. My parents didn’t know what middle name to give me. He had this idea and it sounded good”explained Andrea, who stands out for her prodigious mind.
An example of this is that he can remember his best lap times on the tracks where he has competed in different single-seater categories, as he demonstrated in a video that went viral a few years ago.
And an example of that different mind and cold blood was the moment that MD witnessed at the last Italian GP, in Monza.where I was going to start from the bottom due to an engine change. In the middle of a previous press conference in the hospitality area, he let out a “I will try to win, because Mercedes has not won here since 1955.”“His press officer looked at him and smiled, surprised. He covered his eyes while laughing, in disbelief, at seeing such a young boy remember that fact at a moment of maximum pressure for him, upon arriving as World Cup leader at his home race. He has it all in his head.
AND Three days later, he managed to overcome all his opponents to victory in what was the second largest comeback in history.Yes, helped by a car that was a rocket and a regulation that facilitated overtaking in the ‘Temple of Speed’.
There are many who do not know how much merit to give to the driver in this title because he had the best car. Perhaps he lacked a rival at his height or measuring up to Max Verstappen with similar cars to measure his talent. But he has time ahead of him to do it. And above all, he crushed his partner despite his less experience. He withstood the pressure of the title. He had a perfect year. Destroying when he could, and minimizing losses when he was not in the fight to win.
He did neither more nor less than in the 6 titles that Hamilton achieved at Mercedes (of his 7 total) or in courses in which Michael Schumacher was unbeatable with Ferrarior in the years in which Vettel destroyed the best car, just like Verstappen with Red Bull. He had a winning car and took advantage of it, without failures and without leaving any option to his rivals. Yes, he did it in a different F1, with greater management. But he nailed it. That’s what champions do. Now he is the new king.
