Antonelli to succeed Hamilton? The prodigy reacts for the first time!
Interview
Before Andrea Kimi Antonelli (17) had completed even one competitive lap in Formula 2, the Italian was already being linked to Lewis Hamilton's vacant seat at Mercedes. Once the season got underway, the prodigy still needed some time to settle into the F1 step-up class, but in Melbourne, the young driver from Prema Racing and the Mercedes Academy really showed his class for the first time. With second place on the grid for Sunday's main race, the road to at least a podium finish is open.
It has been since the entry of Max Verstappen that there was such huge hype surrounding a talented driver. Antonelli even skipped Formula 3, moving from FRECA straight to Formula 2. "There was a lot of hype. There's a lot of hype around," Antonelli said after qualifying in Australia to the likes of GPblog about possibly succeeding Hamilton. "But to be honest, I'm really focused on F2."
"I think this result was really important, even for my self-confidence, because I was able to prove to myself that I can get a good result. So obviously the start [of the season] hasn't been the easiest, so my confidence level was not so high. But this result was really important for me. I'm really happy. I think also for the team, it's really important to get this result because it really shows that we're improving round after round and we can be a real contender for the championship."
Antonelli is a fast learner
Antonelli agrees that he is in the middle of a learning process; one in which he does make quick strides. "In Bahrain, it was my first weekend, so obviously, I was not driving very well. There was still a lot of margin. Of course, we struggled in Bahrain but I was still 8th and quite happy with all the experience that I had during the weekend. But I was quite confident after Bahrain because the team learned a lot and actually we showed in Jeddah that the car was much better. Here we show once again that the car is getting better so obviously I'm really happy with the work we're doing."
For Antonelli, for example, Jeddah was his first ever time on a street circuit and Melbourne marks his debut on a semi-street circuit. The real super talents can come to a circuit for the first time and immediately be hugely fast. "Even with the jump I made to F2 and driving for the first time in the city was really challenging for sure, especially with the little track time you get. To really find the limit is not easy, especially in a city track, it is a bit more difficult because you don't have a lot of margin for mistakes, so it's really important to get the best out of it every lap. I was quite happy with how I managed in Jeddah but mainly here in Melbourne. It was quite challenging, but quite happy with the work done."