Antonelli keeping calm and carrying on as F1 shot looms

Mercedes protege Andrea Kimi Antonelli was shot to fame at the start of the season when he became hot favourite to succeed Lewis Hamilton at the F1 team, but right now he's just trying not to get carried away.

"I am quite calm," the Italian who turns 18 this month told Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview. "There has been some pressure on me with all the rumours about next year, but I have always tried to enjoy it.

"I'm enjoying the opportunities I have," he continued. "If the opportunity [to race in F1 in 2025] presented itself to me I would take it with eagerness and try to make the most of it."

Racing drivers dream of such opportunities, but they also come with a significant downside in terms of increased scrutiny and pressure. But Antonelli insists that this doesn't trouble him.

"Some degree of worry I think is always there, the prospect of not being able to perform I think frightens everyone," he said. "But I'm not afraid of being judged."

• Read also: Bearman hoping for a rematch with Antonelli in F1

"I know Mercedes has a clear opinion about my potential," he continued. "Already this season in F2, the championship didn't kick off in the best way but there were no negative thoughts.

Antonelli has particularly relished his chance to conduct private testing with Mercedes on two-year-old equipment.

"I was told the dates, and at that point I said to myself: 'You're really going to drive an F1 car!' It was a very, very special moment, because there was a day and a track, in black on white," he said.

"It was a really great experience," Antonelli recalled of his first session at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. "I carried that excitement with me through the first lap too.

"The conditions were not the best. It was raining, and in the afternoon it even snowed!" he revealed. "Then on the second day the track improved. In the dry the performance emerged: power, deceleration, aerodynamic load, it was crazy."

Antonelli admitted he had been shocked to see how many team personnel it took in the garage to support him, and the level of feedback and information there was involved in addition to just steering the car.

"You have to be able to answer and provide a lot of information when they ask you questions," he said. "It took me a while to get used to it, but now everything already seems normal to me."

"One difficulty I ran into was finding the limit," he admitted. "Every time I ask for a bit more, the car gives it to me. The moment will come when I will understand that there is nothing more to squeeze out - that will be the limit!

"It's a very narrow window," he added. "I am aware that the margin for error is very thin. But the more the confidence with the car grows, the more comfortable I feel."

After his slow start in F2 Antonelli is now up to seventh in the drivers standings while his Prema team mate Ollie Bearman - already confirmed for a seat in F1 with Haas next year - is only 15th.

But Antonelli is not taking anything for granted. "I never expected to go straight into F2," he said, having skipped the usual stint in F3. "When they informed me that this was the plan, I thought it would be a big jump.

"I didn't plan on coming to F2 and winning everything. I was always aware that the jump from Formula Regional would be very challenging, and I was aware that I had a lot to learn, which I am still doing."

Antonelli already has a good relationship with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, but that doesn't necessarily mean he is assured of getting the 2025 Mercedes spot alongside George Russell.

"I'm very happy to be considered, but I'm not asking for anything," he said. "In all honesty I can tell you that for me today it is still a dream. We'll see if it comes true."

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