Andrea Kimi Antonelli is finally getting his shot at Formula 1 after years of climbing the motorsport ladder. During Friday’s media session in Bahrain—the final day of testing—he was asked if he’s feeling comfortable with the Mercedes team yet.
"Yes, I mean, I think it was a pretty positive test. Everything went well with the car. Only this morning we had a slight issue with the car and I missed an hour of driving, which of course was not ideal. But overall it went pretty smooth," Antonelli said.
The young driver completed three sessions, giving him one and a half days behind the wheel.
But there’s still one area he knows needs work.
"I think I still need to understand a little bit more about the car and especially about the tyres as well. Especially in that quali lap, the window where they work is pretty hard to get right," the 18-year-old rookie explained.
Despite the challenges, Antonelli seems pleased with his progress. He’s been putting in serious work to prepare for his debut season.
"Overall I’m quite happy. I mean, I’ve been doing a lot of long runs as well and single lap, yes, couldn’t do a proper session because yesterday of the weather and today with the issue I had to interrupt. But overall it was a positive test and feels weird that now, the next one is going to be the Melbourne race one."
It’s a big jump from testing to the real thing.
In less than 2 weeks, the Formula 1 season will roar to life at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia.
You can follow all sessions live with us right here at GPBlog via our Liveblog.
