30. August 2024
Antonelli parked his Mercedes involuntarily © APA/AFP/GABRIEL BOUYS
Mercedes talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli crashed on his Formula 1 debut in Monza. The 18-year-old Italian spun during training on the high-speed track in the Parabolica on Friday and destroyed his “Silver Arrow”. Antonelli, currently active in Formula 2, is considered the favorite to take the second Mercedes cockpit alongside George Russell in 2025 following the departure of record world champion Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari. Hamilton set the best time of the day in both training sessions.
Antonelli had a completely botched start to his Formula 1 career. The rising star, who turned 18 on Sunday, first did a fast lap, but after ten minutes he lost control in the last corner and ended up in the tire wall. “I’m really sorry for the team and George that they had to work afterwards. It was simply a mistake on my part, I attacked a little too much in these conditions,” said Antonelli in a video sent by Mercedes. “I’ve definitely learned the lesson for next time.”
He is nevertheless grateful to the team for the opportunity, even if he is “not feeling great” at the moment. It was nice to do the first qualifying laps in a Formula 1 car. At the moment of the accident, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff also briefly pulled a face. However, the training had “no impact” on Antonelli’s future at Mercedes, the Viennese stressed a little later.
Wolff explained that Antonelli was physically fine despite the accident with 45g – Antonelli later said 52g. “That was quite an impact. Now he has to get over it and digest it. It is certainly a setback for him personally, but not for us,” Wolff said on ORF. The occupants of a normal car are subjected to around 0.3g during acceleration.
For Antonelli, it was a “worst-case scenario”; the talent lost important training time in the Mercedes, which is actually driven by George Russell. “The whole country is doing headstands and of course he will have put himself under pressure. The most important thing is that he is OK and that the car can be reassembled for George. Everything else is already water under the bridge,” said Wolff.
Antonelli has always been called a child prodigy. “He won every junior series in his first year, which is very unusual. I’ve known him since he was eleven years old. We want a driver who approaches things from the top rather than slowly working towards his goal, that’s why we love him,” said Wolff. With the decision on who will get the second Mercedes cockpit next year, Mercedes is taking its time, according to Wolff, to bring excitement to something that is no longer exciting. An hour after his training accident, Antonelli was already back in sixth place in Formula 2 qualifying.
The Argentinian Franco Colapinto also made his debut in the premier class. The 21-year-old Williams driver is replacing the unsuccessful American Logan Sargeant for the last nine races of the season. In Formula 2, Colapinto is sixth overall, one place ahead of Antonelli. In the second training session, Colapinto finished 17th, just two tenths of a second behind teammate Alexander Albon. In the last seconds of the first one-hour session, Colapinto also braked too late in the Parabolica, but his car remained drivable.
Colapinto does not have high expectations for his debut, unlike perhaps the people in his home country, where parallels are already being drawn with football superstar Lionel Messi. “I see that they compare me sometimes, but then I think: you are crazy. Messi is God and how can you compare me? But it has been 23 years now without a Formula 1 driver from Argentina. So it makes the Argentinians very happy because it is a special moment for everyone – including me,” he said on Thursday.
Hamilton was only three thousandths of a second faster than McLaren driver Lando Norris on Friday. Verstappen, who had set the fastest lap in the first session, failed to make his quick attempt in the afternoon and therefore only finished in 14th place. The Austrian-British racing team brought a specially built wave wing to the rear of the car to Monza. Haas driver Kevin Magnussen also crashed in the second session, but the Dane was also uninjured.
In the World Championship standings, Verstappen, who has been winless for five Grand Prix weekends, is still 70 points ahead of Zandvoort winner Norris.
