MONZA, Italy (AP) — Teenager Kimi Antonelli’s Formula 1 debut lasted just 10 minutes on Friday.
Antonelli, who only turned 18 on Sunday, was involved in a high-speed crash in the first practice session for the Italian Grand Prix.
Driving George Russell’s Mercedes, Antonelli lost control at Monza’s iconic Parabolica corner, spinning off the track and flying through the gravel trap into the barriers, knocking off the front wing of the car.
A distraught-sounding Antonelli was swift to apologise on radio and the young Italian was immediately reassured by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.
Antonelli is widely expected to be announced as Russell’s teammate for next season, replacing the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton. And Wolff said the crash would have “zero effect” on Mercedes’ decision.
“Most important is to hire based on ability. And an FP1 that’s gone wrong is not a reason why you decide for or against a driver,” Wolff said.
Antonelli received his first taste of what it would be like to step up when he was given Russell’s car for the opening practice session at Monza.
There were promising signs for the very limited time he was on the track. But Antonelli was keen to impress, perhaps too keen, and he crashed after seemingly taking too much speed into the final corner of his second lap.
The debutant had just set the fastest middle sector of the session and was looking to reclaim the fastest time from Hamilton, who had just beaten Antonelli’s first lap by 0.6 seconds.
“He’s a rookie, he’s very young,” Wolff said. “We’re prepared to invest into his future. Theses moments they will happen, they will continue to happen next year, but there will also be a lot of highlights.
“We’d rather have a problem slowing him down than making him faster. Because what we saw in one-and-a-half runs was astonishing.”
The session had to be stopped for nearly a quarter of an hour after the crash.
Antonelli was checked over at the medical center before walking back to the Mercedes garage, where he was given a big hug by Wolff.
“To take the pressure off (before practice) I told him ‘We live in our micro bubble here, no one’s interested in FP1 anyway, whatever happens happens, we just get on with things.’ And I told him the same after the session,” Wolff said.
Wolff said Antonelli would likely be given another go at the Mexico Grand Prix in two months’ time.
There is likely to be less of a media circus around him there than at Monza, where excitement is growing over the prospect of a first Italian F1 driver in three years.
Italy has had to wait since 2006 for a win in F1 and much long for the title, as the last Italian champion was Ciccio Ascari in 1953.
“A strong driver needs to recover from these things and cope with the pressure,” Wolff said. “Obviously this weekend wasn’t easy for him because … you have all these shenanigans around you in Monza, Italian kid that’s been hired first time in a Mercedes, and that must be a heavy burden.
“But if he wants to be a champion one day he needs to cope with that and I have no doubt that he can and he will.”
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