P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Mercedes will get more mileage in a F1 car under Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s belt prior to this season, but in the team’s 2020 car due to revised testing restrictions.
Antonelli is preparing for his rookie season in the top flight after securing the Mercedes seat vacated by Lewis Hamilton. Prior to this announcement, Antonelli had already gained experience in Formula 2 and in F1 testing. Mercedes started his rigorous program with the 2021 title-winning car before moving on to the current ground effect creations like the W13. Although Mercedes could have used their 2022 car for testing, Antonelli will be driving the W11 from 2020 at Jerez this week. This decision comes as part of a tightening of testing rules, with teams like Red Bull using previous cars for performance comparisons and development purposes. Ferrari has suspected that reigning champions like Red Bull would base upgrades on data gathered from such tests, sparking discussions about restrictions on private testing.
