Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli is racing on home turf this weekend at the Monza circuit. The young talent is upholding Italian honor at the Temple of Speed. However, he had a challenging opening day; during the second free practice, the 19-year-old driver ended up in the gravel trap early on. Antonelli, who has also gone off the track at Monza in the past, emphasizes that his confidence has not been dented.
With just over fifty minutes left on the clock, Kimi Antonelli skidded during the second free practice at Monza. In the second Lesmo corner, his W16 lost grip, causing the young Italian to take a detour into the gravel trap. The incident cost him a lot of time on the track. It also reminded of his first free practice with Mercedes a year ago. The day before he was announced as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement, Antonelli crashed his ‘loan car’ hard into the wall at the Parabolica.
Determined
Despite the incident, Antonelli emphasized that he is still determined to finish his home race in a beautiful way. “I just pushed a bit too hard for the amount of grip that was there,” he responded to the press on Friday afternoon. “That was a shame. Otherwise, the day looked good,” he added hopefully. “I had a good first free practice and the start of the second free practice looked good, so the confidence is still high.”
In the first practice sessions at Monza, Antonelli recorded the fifth and nineteenth time respectively. “Of course, we have to follow a slightly different program tomorrow, but we try to be prepared for everything,” he concluded combatively. However, teammate George Russell stated that Mercedes had had ‘a treacherous day’. “It was difficult to keep the car on the track,” he explained. “It’s tight, and I expect it to be the same on Saturday.”
