The 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli once again drove a free practice session for the Mercedes team in Mexico City. It was the second time that Lewis Hamilton’s future replacement took charge of a training session. After an early crash during his appearance in Monza, Antonelli took things a lot easier in Mexico. “I wasn’t even pushing to the limit,” he defended his twelfth time.
While George Russell led the time schedules during the first session at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Antonelli had to settle for the twelfth time. The Mercedes protégé stepped into Lewis Hamilton’s car and wanted to finish the free practice without causing any damage. After all, he had already gone off the track during his first Formula 1 session in Monza after just a few laps.
“It went much better than in Monza,” a relieved Antonelli reacted afterwards. “I drove much more calmly today; I didn’t want to take any risks. We just had a neat session, where I got to understand the car and the tires a bit better. I felt that I wasn’t even pushing to the limit,” he proudly stated. “That was my own choice; today was mainly about having a neat session.”
Damaged Floor
However, things didn’t go entirely smoothly for the young Italian. In the opening phase of his second free practice, he drove over some debris on the track, causing significant damage to the floor of the W15. “I didn’t really see it,” Antonelli admitted honestly. “That caused quite a bit of damage, but luckily I was still able to drive a few laps.”
“It was my very first time on this circuit,” he concluded. “As a result, I was able to learn a lot and regain some confidence. On the soft tire, I noticed that the car has a lot of grip, especially since I had mainly done long runs on the hard tire before.” Antonelli will officially debut with the Mercedes team next year, taking over from Lewis Hamilton.
