**Mercedes Confirms Second FP1 Outing for Kimi Antonelli to Avoid Monza Repeat**

Mercedes schedules another first practice session for Kimi Antonelli | A conversation will be held to prevent another Monza scenario

"The speed was definitely impressive; we’ll discuss with him about taking a more gradual approach in the future and how to handle race weekends…"

Mercedes has announced that Andrea Kimi Antonelli will participate in another FP1 session later this season.

Antonelli participated in the first practice session for Mercedes at the Italian Grand Prix, but his debut in an official F1 event was cut short due to a crash at Parabolica during the initial stages of the session.

Despite the slight setback over the weekend, the mood quickly turned positive when, just a day later, Antonelli was revealed to be joining Mercedes as a full-time driver alongside George Russell in 2025.

The Italian racer will be only 18 years old when he makes his first full appearance in Formula 1 at the Australian Grand Prix next year.

As expected, Antonelli will have another opportunity to drive the Mercedes later this year, taking over for Lewis Hamilton at some stage.

Andrew Shovlin stated that Antonelli is expected to participate on a weekend that does not include a sprint race.

The remaining options are Singapore, Mexico, Las Vegas, or Abu Dhabi.

Given that Singapore and Las Vegas are street circuits, Mexico and Abu Dhabi emerge as the more probable choices.

In an interview on the Mercedes YouTube channel, Shovlin, the head of trackside engineering for the team, confirmed, "Yes, there will be a change, as the rules mandate that both of our race drivers must forfeit their seat during a Friday practice session. Since Kimi is our driver for the upcoming year, we naturally plan to utilize him."

"It’s clear he didn’t achieve the level of performance we were aiming for. We’ve been testing and continue to test our older cars, allowing Kimi to get familiar with the vehicle and the tires on various tracks. Unfortunately, it’s a pity he had that crash at Parabolica."

"The speed was definitely impressive. We'll have a conversation with him about taking things a bit more gradually next time and how to handle the race weekend, but we're excited to see him back in the car. We'll choose the appropriate track for that."

"We have numerous sprint races on the horizon, so it's crucial that a race driver doesn't miss their sole practice session during these events. The options are limited, but yes, he will return, and we're eager to have him back in the car."

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