The story behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s F1 debut

Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s smartphone pings to signal the arrival of his Thursday schedule. As with all things Mercedes, its promptness is matched by its detail: a little over 24 hours remain until his first race-weekend track session as a fully-fledged Formula 1 driver, but he has already been in Melbourne for several days to align his body clock with the local timings.

“Are we really going to manage to do all this today?” Kimi asks after scrutinising the colour-coded spreadsheet.

At nine in the morning, a media session is scheduled alongside team-mate George Russell, reserve driver Valtteri Bottas and team boss Toto Wolff at a seaside venue in St. Kilda, overlooking Port Phillip bay with the ocean beyond. As specified in the schedule, Antonelli arrives wearing the team gear Mercedes has chosen for race weekends in 2025.

“How do I look?” Kimi asks with a touch of pride. Then he steps onto the stage and, from that moment, the real grind begins.

It’s unfortunate, if inevitable given Antonelli’s status as a rookie with his F1 journey very much ahead of him, that many of the questions pertain to the former occupant of his seat – Lewis Hamilton. It is a well to which his interlocutors return again and again.

“I don’t want to sound arrogant,” Kimi says, “but I’d like to write my own story. I don’t know what the future holds, but I just want to follow my own path.”

Once the media session ends, it’s straight to the track for a meeting with the engineers to discuss the weekend ahead. The rest of the day is similarly dictated by business, both sporting and marketing: the mandatory FIA weigh-in, the official photo of all drivers on the grid (will they all still be there at season’s end?), his first official FIA press conference, a social media session for the team, an autograph session with fans, a meeting with Australian football players, another briefing with engineers under his race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington, and an event with Mercedes Australia representatives.

Though he doesn’t show it, Kimi has been eagerly awaiting his family’s arrival in Melbourne on Thursday – his father Marco, mother Veronica and younger sister Maggie. They’re staying in a different hotel and, each morning, he picks them up himself – having passed his driving test just six weeks ago.

“Now that I have my driving licence, it’s only fair,” he says. “They drove me around for years.”

Friday starts early for Kimi: in the gym at 8am with his performance coach, Sergi Avila. This isn’t a feel-the-burn workout. Like the other coaches on the grid, Avila is more than just a personal trainer – he acts as driver-whisperer and helps manage stress ahead of the big weekend.

“We always start with mobility exercises,” Avila explains, “then quick activation and visual exercises. It also helps us assess if sleep quality was adequate.”

In common with many other F1 drivers, Antonelli wears a ‘smart ring’ which tracks physical activity and can supply Avila with various health and performance metrics, as well as monitor sleep cycles.

“Sleep-tracking makes it impossible for drivers to stay up late,” Avila laughs. “We’d know immediately.”

Every aspect of Antonelli’s long journey from Italy to Melbourne was carefully planned, including a one-day stopover in Kuala Lumpur. The body’s natural circadian rhythm – the wake-sleep cycle – moves but gradually, and is principally guided by sunlight.

“It [the stopover] helps Kimi adjust to the time zone more progressively,” Avila says. “We also chose overnight flights to land in the morning.”

Nutrition is another crucial factor in driver health and performance, but Avila sees no issues there: “Kimi is lucky to come from a family that prioritises healthy eating.”

Upon arriving at the track, Antonelli discovers a unique feature of Melbourne. Drivers are among the few people allowed to drive on the internal roads of Albert Park – and, once they reach the reserved parking area, they must walk down ‘Melbourne Walk’, a pathway that has become a prime attraction for fans. Tradition dictates that every F1 celebrity stops for autographs, photos and greetings.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

“Wow, so many people!” Kimi exclaims as he takes in the spectacle of this heaving mass of fans, most of them thrusting out pictures and items of merchandise for him to sign. This being Australia, a country with a long F1 tradition, everyone knows who he is despite his rookie status: “Kimi!” they shriek, and the volume only increases as he gets closer.

One fan hands him an old karting photo. “Where did you get this?” he asks, surprised. Others greet him in Italian (“We’re not just here for Ferrari!”) or wish him a podium finish, to which he cautiously responds, “Maybe! It’ll take time…”

As Kimi walks the path, Christian Horner overtakes him, seemingly drawing less attention than the young Italian – a fact which will probably cause him to chafe, given how carefully he grooms his profile via the likes of Drive to Survive. It’s a good 20 minutes before Antonelli finally reaches the paddock gates and swipes through with his pass.

Kimi’s agenda remains packed: greetings, a quick team meeting, and answering precise technical questions, surrounded by engineers, all with headsets and screens. It’s like a NASA control room but, having been in the Mercedes young-driver set-up for so long, Antonelli is entirely familiar with the environment.

Toto Wolff arrives just before FP1. “Everything okay, Kimi?” A different feeling is creeping into the air in the garage, as the minutes tick by towards the moment when cars venture out onto track. Antonelli just nods – he’s already in ‘race mode’.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

The day flies by. After FP2, Antonelli sums up his session: “Our long-run pace looks solid. I still need to fine-tune my warm-up lap with the soft tyres.” His mother affectionately ruffles his hair.

“It’s good, but I need to improve a lot,” he admits. His father offers two observations, and Kimi nods before heading into another engineering debrief.

“I raced here last year in F2,” he says, “but in an F1 car it feels like a completely different circuit. Everything changes – even the tyres are totally different from testing.”

Bonnington reassures him: “Good start.” But it’s clear that Antonelli wants more.

Saturday morning begins with another round of fan interactions on the way in, but the real highlight for the local crowd comes at 11am: a ‘fan zone’ event. A car is summoned to whisk Antonelli and Russell to the venue, where all 20 drivers are due to take turns appearing on stage.

Roberto Chinchero, Motorsport.com Italia with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team

As they approach, Kimi does something unusual for an F1 driver. Their car’s windows are tinted, concealing the occupants from prying eyes – but Antonelli rolls his down to greet the crowd. “So many people! It’s great to see so many passionate fans, and they’re mostly young.”

Kimi has brought Maggie along and they walk backstage hand in hand, the moment captured by the throng of photographers and duly decanted onto social media as a prime example of ‘wholesome feels’. On stage, he and Russell receive a standing ovation.

“Feels like a concert!” exclaims Maggie.

Ten minutes of questions, a quick game with the audience, some cap-throwing – then back to the paddock for qualifying. As with all other aspects of the day, the drivers are on the clock so they’re ushered back again by car.

The next track session serves up the most disappointing moment of his weekend. After damaging the car’s floor on the Turn 6 kerb, Antonelli fails to advance past Q1 and the task ahead becomes yet more difficult.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

As his mechanics swarm under the W16 to assess the damage to its underfloor, the rest of the team rally round. “No worries, it happens – let’s focus on tomorrow,” they reassure him.

Antonelli forces a smile, but his frustration is obvious. His P5 pace in FP3 had suggested a much better outcome than his final P16 grid spot.

“But if it really rains tomorrow…” his father comments prophetically, having scrutinised the forecast.

On Sunday, the ‘ifs’ depart – as predicted, the rain arrives, and it’s heavy enough for the Formula 2 race to be cancelled. There’s simply no room in the track schedule, not even to run it after the grand prix, since everything has to be packed up for the onward journey to China next weekend.

“Imagine the disappointment,” Kimi says. “Travelling all the way to Australia and not racing! For those who qualified up front, that must be crushing.”

The next question is whether the grand prix will be similarly affected. As race time nears, tension builds – for Kimi and his parents, and the rest of the grid. Only Maggie seems relaxed, occupied with her colouring pens in the Mercedes hospitality lounge.

Just when it seems the rain has abated enough to get the grand prix under way on time, there’s a 15-minute delay as Isack Hadjar crunches into the barriers on the formation lap. As the grid finally gets going again to take the start, Kimi’s mother decides that watching the TV footage is too stressful: she removes herself to a private room with just a timing screen.

It’s a good call – she avoids the panic moment when Kimi spins after touching the grass at Turn 3. But from there, he stages a remarkable recovery. Lap after lap, he climbs the order.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Two laps from the finish, Toto Wolff calls Andrea’s parents into the garage. Moments later, the chequered flag confirms Antonelli’s P4 finish. Hugs, pats on the back and smiles abound as they rush to parc ferme to meet him.

The entire team gathers under the podium to celebrate Russell’s P3 finish before Antonelli heads to the ‘pen’ for the mandatory round of post-race interviews. “I have to say, the questions were all quite pleasant,” he remarks.

Back in the Mercedes hospitality lounge, Wolff is the most elated – the man who backed Antonelli’s talent since his karting days feels vindicated. The short walk from the interview area to the team’s headquarters takes much longer than it would on any other day, for now everyone stops Kimi for congratulations, handshakes and high-fives. He smiles, thanks them all, and seems overwhelmed by the respect he’s earned.

His first words upon sitting down say it all: “Now I can say I’ve erased Monza.”

His first FP1 outing last year in the Italian Grand Prix weekend had prompted praise and questions in equal measure as he drove with speed and attacking elan… before crashing.

“Oh, and I hope you saw my pass on Albon – not bad, huh?” He grins, then glances at the race results. “Well… there are some pretty big names behind me, right?”

The Antonelli family’s table is at the hospitality entrance, and well-wishers keep stopping by. “Tonight? I’ll be sleeping – on the plane. We leave immediately for Shanghai.”

While his family enjoys a brief vacation in Australia, Kimi dozes off soon after takeoff. Just before switching off, though, he reads one last message from Wolff: “IN FUTURE, STAY AWAY FROM WHITE LINES AND GRASS.”

Kimi chuckles. “Guess he was more scared than I was…”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Mercedes-Benz