Andrea Kimi Antonelli might be again behind the wheel of a Mercedes F1 automobile right now, however within the group’s 2020 challenger.
Mercedes have organised some additional mileage for the 18-year-old rookie forward of his debut F1 season, with Antonelli driving the Silver Arrows’ W11 which claimed each world championships throughout the 2020 season.
It was the automobile which took Lewis Hamilton to his record-equalling seventh drivers’ world championship – which stays his most up-to-date F1 world title.
Hamilton’s substitute Antonelli has undertaken a rigorous testing programme forward of his first F1 marketing campaign and has pushed a number of Mercedes automobiles, together with their 2021 and 2022 challengers throughout outings final yr.
The Italian additionally drove Mercedes’ 2024 automobile when he made his apply debut at Monza, and once more throughout the post-season take a look at in Abu Dhabi final month.
However for Antonelli’s newest run, which takes place in Jerez in Spain, Mercedes have elected at hand him the reins to a lot older equipment from the pre-ground impact regulation period.
This choice is a direct consequence of an replace to F1’s sporting rules about ‘Testing Earlier Vehicles’ – in any other case often called TPC testing.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli will make his F1 debut with Mercedes this yr
Beforehand, F1 groups had no restrictions to the quantity of mileage they may full with automobiles that had been no less than two years previous.
Nevertheless, the rules have been tweaked for 2025 after Max Verstappen examined Purple Bull’s 2022 automobile at Imola within the build-up to final yr’s Spanish Grand Prix because the group regarded to treatment weaknesses with their RB20.
F1 groups can now solely conduct a most of 20 days per yr of TPC, with present drivers restricted to only 1000 kilometres of working.
Whereas Mercedes might theoretically have carried out Antonelli’s outing in a 2023 automobile below the TPC, they purposely selected in opposition to doing so with the intention to save precious testing time.
As a substitute, Antonelli’s run will formally be classed as Testing of Historic Vehicles (THC), which is “designed and constructed with the intention to adjust to the Technical Laws of any of the three calendar years falling instantly previous to the calendar yr previous the yr of the championship.”
Taking place this route is not going to solely save Mercedes TPC time to make use of later within the yr, however nonetheless hand System 2 graduate Antonelli time to re-acclimatise with F1 equipment following the winter break.
Haas additionally in motion
Haas are additionally working in Jerez because the American outfit carries out their first-ever TPC take a look at programme.
Oliver Bearman will drive the 2023 Haas on Wednesday, with teammate Esteban Ocon taking on on Thursday.
Toyota junior Ritomo Miyata will get some working in Haas’ VF-23 on the finish of every day.
