Mercedes Confirms Second FP1 Outing for Kimi Antonelli: Aiming for Redemption After Monza Incident

Mercedes intends to schedule another FP1 session for Kimi Antonelli | "Will have a conversation with him" to prevent a recurrence of Monza

"The speed was definitely there; we’ll have a conversation with him on adopting a more gradual buildup going forward and the strategy for tackling a race weekend…"

Mercedes has announced that Andrea Kimi Antonelli is set to receive another opportunity to participate in a second FP1 session later this year.

Antonelli took to the track for Mercedes during the first practice session at the Italian Grand Prix. However, his debut in an official Formula 1 session was cut short when he crashed at the Parabolica turn early on.

Despite the setback, the mood wasn't significantly dampened, as within 24 hours, it was revealed that Antonelli would join George Russell as a permanent driver for Mercedes in 2025.

The young Italian will be 18 years old when he takes to the track for his first official Formula 1 race at the Australian Grand Prix next year.

Antonelli is set to take the wheel of the Mercedes once again later this year, filling in for Lewis Hamilton at a certain juncture.

Andrew Shovlin indicated that Antonelli is expected to participate in a weekend without a sprint race scheduled.

This narrows the options down to Singapore, Mexico, Las Vegas, or Abu Dhabi.

Singapore and Las Vegas are considered less probable because they feature street circuits, making Mexico or Abu Dhabi the most probable choices.

During an interview on the Mercedes YouTube channel, Shovlin, the chief of trackside engineering for the team, mentioned: “Indeed, there will be, as the rules mandate that each of our racing drivers must relinquish their seat for a Friday practice session. Given that Kimi is our driver for the upcoming season, naturally, we plan to have him participate.

"Clearly, he wasn't able to cover as much distance as we had anticipated. We've been engaged in and continue to engage in efforts with some of our past models, allowing Kimi to familiarize himself with the car and the tires across various tracks. This will go on despite the unfortunate incident he encountered at Parabolica."

"The speed was definitely promising. We plan to discuss with him how to gradually increase his pace and strategize for the race weekends. Indeed, we are excited to have him drive for us again and will choose an appropriate track for his next outing."

"There are several sprint races on the horizon, and it's crucial that a race driver doesn't skip their sole free practice session during a sprint race. Therefore, our options are quite restricted. However, we are indeed planning to have him return to the lineup, and we're eager to see him back behind the wheel."

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