F2 racer Andrea Kimi Antonelli completed his first two-day test for the first time in a Mercedes F1 car at Red Bull Ring.
Having preponed his F1 test, F2 racer Antonelli completed a two-day run at Red Bull Ring in Austria in the Mercedes W12 which won the constructors’ championship in 2021. Toto Wolff explained the reasons behind adding another test on his list in the 2021 car.
Originally it was slated for a bit later in the year in the 2022 machine, but Wolff wanted to give Antonelli a taste of a championship-winning car. While it is not to fast-track a F1 promotion, but such running will help Mercedes to assess him better.
The seat beside George Russell remains vacant with multiple options including Antonelli. He completed a good 500 km run where he seemingly ran in both wet and dry conditions. Antonelli hasn’t had a the best of start in his debut F2 season so far.
He sits ninth in the standings after three rounds with a best finish of fourth. “It’s been an incredible experience, it was really great to feel the power and downforce,” said Antonelli. “I loved every second of it. It was really good fun and I want to thank all the team for all their hard work.
“We did some sim work and ran through some important things ahead of the day. That was really useful because once I was out on track, I knew what the team was telling me on the radio. I have learned a lot in these two days, things which will be really helpful when I go back to F2. But I need to keep working, and keep improving too.”
Here’s video: https://x.com/MercedesAMGF1/status/1780646574546206973
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