Kimi Antonelli tests the 2022 Mercedes W13 at Imola
Just a few days ago, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who had just completed his first drive in an F1 car, was once again called in by Mercedes. This time to test the 2022 W13, a more recent, dry-tested single-seater.
Kimi Antonelli was invited, ten days ago, to the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari to attend the 6 Hours of Imola in WEC. Fortunately "he stayed in the area", since the Mercedes protege was offered the opportunity to take a second ride in an F1, and this, fifteen days after the first one at the Red Bull Ring driving the W12.
This time, he was able to drive the W13, used by George Russell and Lewis Hamilton during the 2022 season. The one that surprised with its aerodynamic choices and its lack of sidepods, even if in the end its innovations did not pay off in terms of performance on the track. The idea has since been adopted by Red Bull and makes Max Verstappen happy. Mercedes still uses this car for private testing. The team cannot use a car less than two years old in order not to be considered as running a private testing mileage that could benefit the current season.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli was able to carry out a second test aboard an F1 car. The Mercedes team wanted to keep the test session secret as they did not communicate about it. However, on-site observers were able to note the lap times. He clocked his fastest lap in 1:21.250. This time was only 0.87s slower than Russell's fastest lap time during the qualifying session (1:20.380) in 2022.
An ideal preparation for Andrea Kimi Antonelli as the Formula 2 restart is scheduled in Imola from May 17th to 19th.
Please note that an F1 driver cannot drive if he is not yet 18 years old. Kimi Antonelli, a protege of Mercedes, is currently 9th in the Formula 2 championship. He will turn 18 on August 25th. Therefore, Mercedes could place him in a sister team, such as Williams for example, as soon as 2025 depending on his performances in F2 this year.
