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Future Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli says he leaned a valuable lesson — albeit in a difficult manner — when he crashed during practice at the Italian Grand Prix. Antonelli was m…
Future Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli learned a valuable lesson the hard way when he crashed during practice at the Italian Grand Prix, just before being announced as a Mercedes driver in 2025. Despite initially topping the timing screens, Antonelli pushed too hard on his second timed effort and crashed heavily, ending his session prematurely. Reflecting on the incident, Antonelli acknowledged the need to gradually build up to the limit rather than go flat out immediately. Although still learning in Formula 2, he has shown improvement through the Testing of Previous Cars program and feels more confident in the car. Team principal Toto Wolff praised Antonelli’s natural speed but emphasized the importance of facing challenging situations to accelerate his learning process and development as a driver.
