Kimi Antonelli and Kimi Raikkonen share the same first name – but the Italian rookie has to smile when he thinks back to his first meeting with the cool Finn
So far, he is living up to his namesake in Formula 1: Kimi Andrea Antonelli scored points in each of his first three Grand Prix starts, including in the Chinese sprint. While the Mercedes youngster is obviously setting the pace, the youngest driver in the field, at just 18 years old, is also impressing with his composure: unlike the other rookies, the Italian has not yet made any major mistakes or even had any accidents.
Is the new Kimi trying to steal the second nickname from the old Kimi as well? As is well known, this is “Iceman” – but there is still a long way to go before that happens, Antonelli laughs at the press conference on Thursday before the Bahrain Grand Prix, and shares the anecdote of how he first met the cool Finn himself…
“I met him when I was quite small, I think it was in 2018 on the fringes of the Grand Prix in Monza,” recalls Antonelli, who had just turned twelve at the time: ‘To be honest, when I met him for the first time, I immediately understood why they call him the ’Iceman’. I remember that I was super nervous when I went up to him – and he had exactly zero reaction,” Antonelli grins today.
Kimi about Kimi: ‘Such a cool dude’
But that didn’t change his high opinion of his namesake – who, by the way, he is not named after! – but that didn’t change much, quite the opposite: “I think he’s a cool dude. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to have a real conversation with him, but of course I would like to do that in the future, definitely,” says Antonelli: “It would be cool to ask him for some advice on racing, because he has done so much in this sport.”
But the Italian himself has also left his first footprints in Formula 1, snapping up two records from world champion Max Verstappen in Suzuka: In Japan, Antonelli not only became the youngest F1 driver to lead kilometers at just 18 years, seven months and twelve days, but he is also the youngest Grand Prix driver to ever set a fastest race lap:
A more than good omen, considering that the last three drivers to achieve this within their first three Grand Prix weekends all went on to become world champions at some point in their careers: Jacques Villeneuve in Australia in 1996, Nico Rosberg in Bahrain in 2006 and Lewis Hamilton in Malaysia in 2007.
Russell praises Antonelli: “Did a great job”
Mercedes team-mate George Russell is not fooled by Antonelli’s performance and knows that, despite his young age, he has a really good driver alongside him: “He did a great job – but it didn’t really come as a surprise to me. I’ve seen how good he’s been in all the practice sessions, what an impressive resume he has coming up from the junior classes, and how he’s integrated into the team,” Russell says, praising the rookie.
He is pleased for his young teammate: “It’s really nice to see the strong races he has shown so far. Of course, it’s great for us to have two cars that are at the front of the pack at every race,” says the Mercedes team leader. “It’s good for the championship and also for each other’s development. So all in all, it’s really gratifying!”
