Andrea Kimi Antonelli to participate at home in Italian GP FP1
27th August 2024Mercedes has announced that their junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be driving one of their cars during Free Practice 1 at the Italian Grand Prix.
Feature image credit: Mercedes F1
Antonelli is set to get behind the wheel of the Mercedes 2024 championship challenger, the W15, on Friday to run the team’s first FP1 rookie of the season.
In front of his home crowd, the Bologna-born Formula 2 driver will take over George Russell’s car on Friday with Mercedes confirming Lewis Hamilton will skip FP1 at a race later in the year.
When the Mercedes junior embarks on the FP1 session, he will be the first Italian driver in a Grand Prix race weekend since Antonio Giovinazzi, at the 2022 United States Grand Prix, when he took part with Haas.
“Taking part in my first FP1 is going to be really special” Antonelli said on the news. “I’m really excited to drive the W15 and share the track with so many amazing drivers. I can’t wait for it!
“Making my F1 session debut in front of my home crowd too is incredible. I’m looking forward to learning a lot but also helping contribute to the team’s weekend.”
Antonelli remains heavily linked to the Mercedes seat since he was promoted to Formula 2 in 2024 to become Hamilton’s replacement when the seven-time world champion moves over to Ferrari, in 2025.
However, it has not been confirmed as yet that he will get the call-up to the Mercedes F1 team for next season.
As it currently stands, Antonelli is enjoying a fairly good start to his rookie season in F2. The Italian sits seventh in the drivers championship and he has two wins under his belt currently: the Great Britain Sprint Race and Hungary’s Feature Race.
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
