Motorsports
Antonelli reveals Spa F1 test breakthrough in curing core weakness
Andrea Kimi Antonelli says a breakthrough test at Spa-Francorchamps was key to convincing Mercedes he had overcome a key weakness and deserved an F1 race seat.
The young Italian had long been in the frame to become Lewis Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes for 2025, but early testing in an old F1 car had exposed some elements he needed to improve on.
For while there was little doubt about his raw speed and ability to deliver fast individual laps, he was still lacking early on when it came to showing consistency over race-distance runs.
But he says that a step change on that front was made during a post Belgian Grand Prix test before the summer break, and that proved enough for Mercedes to commit to him for next year.
Reflecting on his testing progress in a 2022 car during an appearance at “Il Festival dello Sport” organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Antonelli singled out the Spa run as significant.
“During the TPC [testing of previous cars] tests, one thing that impressed them was how quickly I got to the limit and how quickly I got to the target lap times that Mercedes wanted,” he said.
“But I have to say that the factor on which I struggled the most during testing was the race pace.
“However, in the last two days of testing at Spa, I improved the race pace considerably, and that pushed Mercedes to sign me.
“Until that moment, they had an idea that they wanted to put me in the Mercedes car in 2025, but first they wanted to see if I could improve those weaknesses I had.
“During the Spa tests, I made a good step forward and that convinced Mercedes.
“In fact, before the summer break, I had a call with [Toto] Wolff, my engineer and other people from Mercedes. It was there they told me that I would be one of their drivers in 2025. It was a good moment.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes F1 W15, crashes out in FP1
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
While Mercedes is playing down expectations for Antonelli, especially after his first FP1 run at Monza ended with a crash after just ten minutes, he is quite ambitious in terms of what he wants to deliver.
In fact, Antonelli says that the target is to become a race winner in his rookie F1 season.
“I feel ready for F1,” he explained. “In terms of speed, I think it won’t be a problem. The only thing where there will be a lot of work to do is about how to manage the weekend in the best possible way and also to learn all the procedures. So, there will be a lot of things to learn.
“Definitely winning some races [next year] would be a dream. It won’t be easy, because all the teams will have a competitive car, so it will be very difficult, but this is the target.
“Some podiums would also be good, but the main goal is to bring home some wins.”
Home steering wheel and simulator
Antonelli also offered some insight into how Mercedes is helping prepare him for the challenges of an F1 weekend – through a mixture of overloading with information in testing, plus getting a home-sim rig set-up.
“It will be important to learn not to lose concentration when someone is talking to you from the pits, because they are doing it to give you useful information,” he said.
“In testing they are talking to me more and more, because in F1 it is crucial to learn the procedures. So when they ask you for a change, you have to know what button you have to touch on the steering wheel and what it does.
“These are all things I’m learning and getting used to, so I’m also doing the tests not only to improve as a driver, but also to learn the procedures and get used to having a person on the radio talking to you constantly.
“Mercedes is going to send me a steering wheel and a small simulator at home to learn how to do the race starts, so I will be able to practice.
“The steering wheel is the Formula 1 steering wheel, so it will help me memorise the buttons as well. At high speeds you don’t have time to look at the steering wheel. You have to know it by heart.”
Additional reporting by Gianluca D’Alessandro
Super Formula has cancelled next season’s planned visit to South Korea’s Inje Speedium, and will instead race entirely within Japan in 2025.
Series promoter JRP made the announcement on Saturday ahead of this weekend’s penultimate round of the season at Fuji, although it’s understood that teams had already been informed of the move late last month.
It comes not much more than a month on from the official confirmation of the Inje race, which followed confirmation from Japanese national federation JAF that the series would be venturing to South Korea for its first overseas race since it visited Sepang in 2004.
Addressing reporters at Fuji, JRP boss Yoshihisa Ueno said negotiations with the Inje promoter had been proceeding, but as the conditions could not be met in the agreed timeframe, the decision was made to give up on holding the race in 2025.
However, Ueno did not discount the prospect of the event returning in 2026 as Super Formula pursues a policy of expanding its footprint in Asia.
Besides the Inje race, the remainder of the calendar remains the same compared to the draft unveiled at the end of August, with 12 races (including five double-headers) still representing the highest number of races held in a single year in Super Formula history.
Pit lane
Photo by: Masahide Kamio
The removal of Inje from the Super Formula calendar alleviates one of two clashes with the FIA World Endurance Championship schedule, as the Korean round was set to fall on the same weekend as the test day for the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Kamui Kobayashi previously told Motorsport.com that he was unsure whether he would continue in Super Formula owing to both that clash and the conflict between the Motegi race and the WEC’s visit to Imola in April, which remains in place.
Additionally, this year’s FIA Prize Gala in the Rwandan capital of Kigali is likely to prevent Kobayashi from attending Super Formula’s post-season test at Suzuka in December.
Provisional 2025 Super Formula calendar:
|
Round |
Date |
Venue |
|---|---|---|
|
1-2 |
7-9 March |
Suzuka |
| 3-4 |
18-20 April |
Motegi |
| 5 |
17-18 May |
Autopolis |
| 6-7 |
18-20 July |
Fuji |
| 8 |
9-10 August |
Sugo |
| 9-10 |
10-12 October |
Fuji |
| 11-12 |
21-23 November |
Suzuka |
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Brodie Kostecki has stunned the Supercars paddock with a dazzling Shootout lap to take pole position for Sunday’s Bathurst 1000.
The reigning Supercars Champion put a troubled season on the back burner to set the fastest qualifying lap of the weekend, his Erebus Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro lapping the 6.2km track in 2m05.5119s.
“I wasn’t sure I was going to get it, it was not my best lap around here all weekend,” said Kostecki, who will share his car with Todd Hazelwood.
“I had a bad tyre vibration, I was starting to get double vision at one point. I wasn’t feeling very well yesterday and I actually watched the [earlier] co-drivers’ session from the house.”
Cameron Waters looked to have Kostecki’s measure when he was the second-last man out but the Tickford Racing Ford looked to lose a little speed in the third and final sector, and will line up second in the car he will share with James Moffat.
“I really wanted that but Brodie’s lap was awesome,” said Waters. “We are in the mix and the front row is pretty good. I have been focusing pretty hard on the race car and it feels good.”
Broc Feeney, who missed out on provisional pole position in Friday’s qualifying session because of a late red flag, finished the session in third place, sharing the Triple Eight Chevrolet with Jamie Whincup.
Richie Stanaway delivered a brilliant performance to seal fourth. As the first man out in the single-lap session the 32-year-old New Zealander set a benchmark time of 2m05.9286s in his Ford before returning to the Grove Racing garage to watch as the next five drivers tried but failed to match his time.
Stanaway, who does not have a confirmed Supercars seat for 2025, had a wild moment at the first corner but stormed over the rest of the first sector.
After setting the fastest time in Friday qualifying Stanaway’s team-mate Matt Payne dropped to seventh in the shootout after touching the wall at the exit of Forrest’s Elbow.
Points leader Will Brown will start from fifth on the grid for Triple Eight ahead of Erebus’ Jack Le Brocq, whose Chevrolet touched the wall on the way up the hill.
Anton De Pasquale gave the hard-working Dick Johnson Racing Ford team some comfort with the eighth fastest time, while Chaz Mostert will be right behind him in the Walkinshaw Andretti United Ford.
Tenth place went to Andre Heimgartner who, in his first-ever Bathurst shootout, ran wide at the first corner, losing about eight seconds. He will share the Brad Jones Racing Chevrolet with Declan Fraser.
The Supercars will return to the hallowed Bathurst track at 8:15am, Australian Eastern Daylight Savings time, before the start of the 161-lap classic, set for 11:30am.
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