Formula 1 News: Antonelli completes first F1 test with Mercedes

Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s first test in a Formula 1 car is now complete, as the 17-year-old got the chance to drive Mercedes’ 2021 challenger, the W12 – the car Lewis Hamilton drove in losing the title in the season finale in Abu Dhabi to Max Verstappen.

Following the completion of his running in Austria, Mercedes shared a handful of photos of their junior driver as he took to the track in Formula 1 machinery for the first time in his young career.

First @F1 test for Kimi Antonelli ✅😁 pic.twitter.com/n5vjx5QIBJ

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 17, 2024

Antonelli himself revealed that snow curtailed his first planned day of running, but made up for it with a dry second day to get valuable mileage under his belt – which the team say amounted to 500km over the two days, which equates to approximately 115 laps of the Red Bull Ring.

“Hello guys, first two days done in an F1 car. It’s been an incredible experience, I loved every second of it,” he said in a clip posted on Mercedes’ social media accounts.

“The first day didn’t go as planned, we got some snow unfortunately so we couldn’t really drive, but the second day was dry and got quite a lot of laps and it was really good fun.

“I want to thank all the team for all their hard work, and I’m excited for what’s coming.”

“We did some sim work and ran through some important things ahead of the day,” Antonelli added to the team’s official website.

“That was really useful because once I was out on track, I knew what the team was telling me on the radio.

“I have learned a lot in these two days, things which will be really helpful when I go back to F2. But I need to keep working, and keep improving too.”