The first words
“It was an incredible experience, it was really nice to feel the power and the downforce. I loved every second.” With these words Andrea Kimi Antonelli commented on his first two days of testing at the wheel of a Formula 1, carried out in the cold of the Styrian hills on the Austrian Red Bull Ring circuit. The Italian – who this year competes in F2 in the Prema team – was put by the Mercedes team at the wheel of the 2021 W12, the last car made in Brackley to win the Constructors’ title and which came within a lap of the lead Lewis Hamilton to crown himself world drivers’ champion for the eighth time in his career.
500 km and the snow problem
Antonelli completed around 500 km on the track, actually concentrated almost exclusively on Wednesday, given that the bad weather on Tuesday ruined the plans of the Anglo-German team: “The first day didn’t go as planned because we had a snowfall so we could I didn’t run much – explained Antonelli on the official Mercedes platforms – but the second day went well and I was able to complete many laps. We did some work on the simulator and analyzed some important things before the test – added Antonelli – and it was very useful because, once on the track, I knew what the team was telling me via radio”.
“It was really fun and I want to thank the whole team for their hard work – concluded the 17-year-old from Bologna – I learned a lot in these two days, things that will be very useful to me when I return to F2. But I have to continue working and improving.”
