Kimi Antonelli goes incognito like Max Verstappen and destroys karting field. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the young Mercedes driver, followed Max Verstappen’s example.

The 2025 Formula 1 season has officially ended, but as we know, drivers rarely relax for long away from the track, whether it’s in a kart or a car.

What happened in the past few days, however, is truly remarkable. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the young Italian Mercedes driver, took a day off before fully focusing on 2026 and flew to England, visiting the karting track in Milton Keynes under a false name.

Following in the footsteps of his mentor Max Verstappen, who in the summer used the name Franz Hermann to drive a GT3 at the Nürburgring in Germany without attracting attention, the Bolognese driver adopted the name Henry Shovlin for the day. The name was far from random, as Shovlin is the surname of Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ trackside engineering director.

The nineteen-year-old first attended the briefing with the other drivers and then requested to participate in the race. He didn’t reveal his true identity to anyone, although it soon became clear when, under difficult track conditions due to rain and typical British winter temperatures, he began lapping over three seconds faster than everyone else.

After the race, Antonelli removed his helmet, revealing his identity and leaving everyone present astonished. According to the timing sheets, his wet-track lap time was 1:24.5, even beating Alexander Albon’s record set under the same conditions.

Looking at the top positions, other notable names appear, including Oliver Goethe, Pepe Martí—now racing in Formula E—as well as Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar, who recorded faster times than the Mercedes driver but had done so under perfect track conditions.

The anecdote was shared by the official social media account of the kart track, explaining how this “quiet kid” rented a SODI D40 kart at the counter, then hit the track and enjoyed himself alongside all the other drivers.

As attention turns to 2026 and the major regulation changes ahead, incidents like Kimi Antonelli’s undercover outing offer a fun glimpse into the off-season lives of the grid’s rising stars. With his blend of talent, humility, and competitive fire, the young Italian looks set to be a fan favorite for years to come at Mercedes.