Presumptive Mercedes Pick's F1 Weekend Debut Didn't Go As Planned After Huge Crash

It's expected that Mercedes will announce 18-year-old Italian phenom Andrea Kimi Antonelli as the driver who will partner with George Russell for the 2025 Formula 1 season.

But, before that becomes official, the team decided to have the F2 driver hop in one of their cars for Free Practice 1 in his home country.

What an incredible opportunity… unfortunately, it ended prematurely in a big way.

F1 teams are required to put young drivers in their cars for a certain number of practice sessions, so having Antonelli in the car checked that box, but also gave him a bonus taste of a current Formula 1 car before he goes full-time next season (again, not official, but certainly trending that way and some reports say that announcement could come this weekend).

However, Antonelli's maiden run on an F1 weekend came to an end after 5 laps when he lost the rear of his car entering the Parabolica which caused him to spin across the gravel and slam hard into the tire barrier.

That's a big crash — team boss Toto Wolff later said it was a 45g impact — and a huge disappointment for Antonelli, but that's a corner that can crash out seasoned veterans. 

I mean, that same corner got the safety car on Thursday.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli climbs out of his Mercedes after a heavy crash into the tire barrier on the outside of the Parabolica at Monza. (Getty Images)

Still, that's probably one of the last things Mercedes would have wanted for a young driver like Antonelli — who ended the session in P20 due to the crash — who will have to deal with some pretty serious pressure if tapped to drive for one of the sports' front-running teams.

However, Wolff made it clear that the crash will have no impact on the team's decision for 2025.

"No, zero effect," he said. "Most important is to hire based on ability, and an FP1 that’s gone wrong is not the reason why you decide for or against a driver."

Fortunately, the team was able to repair the car in time for Russell to hit the track for Free Practice 2, although he did miss the start of the session. He finished FP2 in P6 with teammate Lewis Hamilton topping the time sheet.