Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli avoided a wardrobe malfunction during Thursday’s press conference ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix as David Croft stepped in, subtly warning him about his wide-legged shorts.
The rookie driver wasn’t expecting fashion advice from the Sky Sports F1 commentator as he stepped into the conference yesterday, but moments before the cameras started rolling, Crofty reportedly pulled Antonelli to the side to warn him about his choice of shorts.
“David Croft had to warn Kimi Antonelli about his shorts in the press conference today,” said Formula 1 photographer and insider Kym Illman on a recent TikTok video (below).
“Well it was quite interesting to watch because before things got started, David just mentioned to Kimi that he might want to be careful because those shorts were quite wide legged, and as such, the TV could get a good luck up them.
“That resulted in Kimi spending some time tucking those shorts in, such that nothing… Fell out.”
Antonelli is getting to grips with his media duties just as well as he is getting to grips with the Mercedes W16. He’s shown incredible pace so far this season after replacing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at the Brackley outfit. Sitting fifth in the drivers’ standings behind team-mate George Russell, he boasts 30 points and hopes to continue his success at the Bahrain International Circuit.
“I mean, so far I think it’s gone pretty well,” Antonelli said in the conference ahead of this race weekend. “The thing I was the happiest about is the consistency throughout the three races and, you know, keep trying to improve weekend by weekend.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Jack Doohan, Alpine, Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
“Of course, every weekend is a massive learning for me, especially learning about the tyre. I think it was really helpful and I think it’s going to be really helpful to have the same compound this weekend as well compared to Suzuka just because I’m understanding more and more the tyre.
“I think in the first couple of races I really struggled with warm-up when it was coming to quali, and I think Suzuka was a big step forward on that side. So obviously massive learning, but so far I’m happy with how it’s going.
“Of course, you know George is running really well and it’s really helping me to develop and push myself even further. But I’m happy because I’m getting there slowly.”
