It was a rather positive session following the major mistake he made in Monza. Kimi Antonelli returned to the track with Mercedes during the first free practice session for the 2024 Formula 1 Mexican GP, stepping in for Lewis Hamilton, who will give up his seat to him in a few months, as the seven-time F1 world champion will move to Scuderia Ferrari starting with the 2025 campaign.
The young Italian talent completed many laps, choosing not to take risks to avoid repeating what happened in Monza. At his home circuit, the future teammate of George Russell crashed into the wall after only a few laps, likely driven by the urge to prove to Toto Wolff that he made the right choice.
On the Mexican circuit, however, Antonelli opted for a more conservative approach, aiming to complete as many kilometers as possible in the sixty minutes allotted to him by the team.
“No risks, but I had room for improvement”
“I took it easy compared to Monza,” Kimi Antonelli stated at the end of the session which was held at the 4.304-kilometre Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. “I didn’t want to take risks because the team had a program to follow to find the right setup. It was important for me to complete laps without making mistakes.” – he pointed out.
“I am quite happy with how it went,” the Italian driver added. “I felt I had a lot of room for improvement but there was no need to push. I gained experience on a new track for me and learned even more about the car. Right now, it’s more important for me to get used to what next year will be like rather than to demonstrate speed. In Monza, I was fast for two laps but then I crashed and didn’t have the opportunity to gain experience, which is what I need. The team asked me to get comfortable with the track. We made some adjustments with the hard tires and then I used the setup that felt better for me to try the soft tires,” Kimi Antonelli concluded.
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