Kimi Antonelli claims he broke the karting record set by eight-win Formula 1 rival, ‘I was impressed…’

Kimi Antonelli will make his Formula 1 debut for Mercedes at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. He becomes the third-youngest driver in the history of the sport.

Antonelli boasts an impressive record in the junior categories. He won the ADAC F4 title in 2022 before taking the Formula Regional titles in Europe and the Middle East a year later.

He bypassed Formula 3 and went straight to F2 last term. While he wasn’t able to compete with Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar, who earned F1 seats after finishing first and second, he still put together a solid season.

Antonelli picked up two wins and four podiums en route to sixth in the championship despite missing the final two rounds in Abu Dhabi. Mercedes confirmed at the end of the summer that he’d be replacing Lewis Hamilton, but it was a poorly kept secret for months beforehand.

The Italian, who’s his country’s first representative since Antonio Giovinazzi in 2021, is regarded as a generational talent. But many have arrived in F1 with similar hype and never lived up to it at the highest level.

Martin Brundle fears Mercedes will be a ‘one-horse team’ this year as Antonelli adapts. He crashed on his FP1 debut at Monza, which many have taken as a warning that he’ll have a few incidents this year too.

Kimi Antonelli says he beat Charles Leclerc in karting before Mercedes debut

Speaking to Sky Italy ahead of the race in Melbourne, Antonelli shared an intriguing anecdote from the off-season. He went karting in Mykonos, a Greek island.

Ferrari star Charles Leclerc, who has won eight Grands Prix, had previously raced at the venue. And after his session, Antonelli was informed that he’d eclipsed Leclerc’s lap record.

Of course, this equipment is worlds apart from an F1 car, and it’s unclear how much either driver was pushing. But it does bode well for Antonelli’s instinctive skills.

Leclerc spent a year in the midfield with Sauber before he graduated to Ferrari in 2019. Mercedes believe Antonelli is good enough to jump straight into front-running machinery.

“Apparently yes, I beat his time,” he said. “It was very nice because they were rental karts but modified, so I was impressed.”

Peter Windsor sincerely hopes Mercedes won’t say one thing to Kimi Antonelli

Antonelli has translated his karting pace into some promising early showings. He was immediately on the pace at pre-season testing in Bahrain.

According to one journalist, Antonelli ‘turned a lot’ of his heads with his race simulation. He apparently kept pace with Leclerc, a veteran of nearly 150 Grands Prix.

Often, drivers graduating from F2 are immediately competitive over a single lap, but need time to hone their racecraft, particularly their management of the tyres. But it seems Antonelli already boasts a comprehensive skillset.

Peter Windsor says his late-braking style could hurt him. However, he’s adamant Mercedes shouldn’t tell Antonelli to drive like George Russell, warning it would be a ‘massive mistake’.