Formula 1 rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli started his preparations for the 2025 Formula 1 season at Jerez on Wednesday.
Mercedes are getting ready for their first F1 season without Lewis Hamilton since 2012 and Kimi Antonelli was the driver that the Silver Arrows finally settled on when replacing the seven-time world champion.
Team principal Toto Wolff has put his full faith in Antonelli to step into Hamilton’s shoes and is giving the young Italian every opportunity to succeed this year.
While George Russell is driving a Mercedes on ice during pre-season, Antonelli began working towards the Australian Grand Prix during a two-day test at Jerez.
Antonelli was joined at the Spanish track by his old F2 Prema teammate Oliver Bearman, with Haas taking part in their first-ever TPC run.
However, eagle-eyed F1 fans spotted that the young Italian wasn’t using the team’s black livery on track.
Although Mercedes are known as the Silver Arrows, they’ve used a black livery since 2020 albeit with silver accents on their more recent models, however, a report from Autoracer has explained why Antonelli was sporting a very different look on track.
Kimi Antonelli drives a camo Mercedes during testing for sponsorship reasons
The report from Autoracer explains that the purpose of Antonelli’s two-day outing with Mercedes is to get him acclimated to working with the team and learning more about their processes and procedures during running.
However, the 18-year-old was driving Mercdes’ 2020 F1 car because it doesn’t count towards the limited running he’s allowed in the team’s more recent machines.
It’s an interesting decision as the car was designed during a different set of regulations but highlights just how much practice Antonelli needs in Formula 1 cars before heading to Bahrain for pre-season testing.
READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats
What was odd about Antonelli’s car was that it wasn’t sporting their traditional black or silver liveries.
Instead, it had an interesting camo pattern, which Autoracer explains is due to sponsorship issues.
Plenty of Mercedes sponsors have changed over the winter, with many connected directly to Hamilton.
F1 fans have admitted that they’ll miss Mercedes working with Tommy Hilfiger, but their connection with the team has been replaced by Adidas.
Mercedes’ final livery for the 2025 season will be revealed at the F1 75 event at the O2 in London next month.
Why Mercedes swapped to a black F1 car livery during the 2020 season
Mercedes first started using the black livery in 2020 as a stand against racism, with Wolff stating at the time: “Racism and discrimination have no place in our society, our sport or our team: this is a core belief of Mercedes.
“But having the right beliefs and the right mindset isn’t enough if we remain silent.
“We wish to use our voice and our global platform to speak up for respect and equality, and the Silver Arrow will race in black for the entire 2020 season to show our commitment to greater diversity within our team and our sport.”
READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Hamilton was a big advocate of the change, stating: “We want to build a legacy that goes beyond sport.
“If we can be the leaders and can start building more diversity within our own business, it will send such a strong message and give others the confidence to begin a dialogue about how they can implement change.”
Mercedes plan to continue using the black livery in 2025 despite Hamilton’s move to Ferrari.
Wolff told Hamilton that the team will ‘stick’ with the change in livery this year even after he’s moved onto Ferrari.
The seven-time world champion might have a much trickier time convincing Ferrari to update their iconic red look.
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