Motorsport, on closer inspection, differs slightly from the more "common" sports. Risk is an integral part of motor racing, fear is a difficult obstacle to overcome, and pressure is a burden for many. The competition is extremely close, and the time to think and calculate when tearing up asphalt at criminal speeds is minimal.
Eyes can be seen at every corner, and the need to jump into this world from an early age makes everything more distressing and fascinating. To be called to carry out a job that is not for many there are them, the pilots. Men on the razor's edge, slaves of a bloody passion, champions of a task incomprehensible to most. Sacrifice and obsession are the watchwords if you even want to hope to be able, one day, to arrive under everyone's eyes.
Pilot it is Andrea Kimi AntonelliClass 2006. The young man from Bologna has been racing since he was seven years old, catapulted into the world of four wheels by a family that speaks the language of engines in anything but macaroni.
In karting he has imposed his presence, and only last year it made its debut on single-seater open wheels. It took him a few months to make it clear that the hegemonic trend of the karting period has certainly not weakened, On the contrary. Kimi is currently leading both the Italian and German Formula 4 championships. To give an idea of his performance, he finished on the top step of the podium nine times out of fifteen races in the Italian championship. He is the only rider in his age class to have been chosen by the Mercedes academy: the Mercedes Junior Team. Probably, only this last sentence would have been enough to do justice to this all-Italian rising star.
We at FantaF1 had the honor of interviewing him, to dissect complex issues such as pressure, mistakes, and to take a look at the future that who knows, maybe one day, could see Kimi Antonelli make his Formula 1 debut.
The importance of mental strength according to Kimi
Looking at your season and seeing that you've often been in the lead and found yourself in the role of managing who's behind, what's your relationship with pressure and how do you handle it?
"I think we all suffer a little from the pressure. When I started with the first car races I suffered enough and made many mistakes. But I believe that every race I learned to handle it more and more. I must say that still, on certain occasions, I suffer a little from it, especially when it happens to struggle to find the setup, and try to get more out of the car, sometimes a little too much feeling obligated to fill a gap. But I'm learning to handle the pressure, especially with experience, crucial in any sport. After all these Formula 4 races I've run, I'm learning to govern it".
What has helped you besides the experience in managing it?
"Mostly the support of the parents, of the team itself, and of Mercedes. This, plus experience, has helped and is still helping".
Kimi's breakthrough
Going back a little over the years, what does it mean for a 12/13 year old boy to be one of the few chosen by a team like Mercedes, in a period in which they won everything in Formula One?
"I think it's beautiful, because it doesn't happen often. I I consider myself very lucky for that, also because I think there are other riders who deserve it. I'm not saying I don't deserve it, but I admit I was lucky. Although I felt more pressure at first, because being under an academy means that there are more eyes on you, I believe that especially now you confide a lot, because you know you are in the right hands, e if you do everything right you can reach the top".
Has your approach changed since then?
“I have to say that I've always run the same way, I never changed. Obviously in the beginning, feeling more pressure, I tended to make more mistakes. But now, while maintaining the same way of running, I can make less and less mistakes".
Toto Wolff often compliments you on your race weekends, what is your relationship with the Mercedes team principal?
"We talk often, especially after the weekends. He's a fantastic person, ed having been a pilot in the past he understands me very well, even when they may be in trouble. Apart from that, I have a wonderful relationship with him, maybe at the end of the season I'll even go and see him".
Moving on to the dark side of racing, if an error or an external unexpected event occurs that could compromise your race, how do you deal with the situation mentally to move on?
"I'll give you an example right away: at the start of the season in Imola, the weekend was disastrous. In three races I only scored one point. In race 1 I broke the gearbox and in race 2 I broke the wing due to a contact. After the weekend I was very frustrated at first, but this motivated me even more to recover and do better. Sometimes though, it happens that if I struggle so much in a weekend, it's frustrating. But I'm trying to try to manage this emotion. At the red bull ring, for example, in race 2 I had a contact and came back, but I was able to manage the frustration much better than at Imola. Afterwards I tried to stay as calm as possible thinking about the last race, without thinking about what happened before. In this my father helped me a lot.
Where do you see Kimi Antonelli in three years?
"It's hard to say, the road is long and hard therefore it is difficult to make predictions. I honestly don't know, but I hope and believe that if I do everything right we can already be in Formula 1, even if it is difficult to say”.
A look with Kimi at the top flight
Let's talk about Formula 1, who are the drivers who surprised you the most this year?
"Doubtless De Vries. I think that although I don't have much experience in F1, in Monza I handled it very well for a first race. Besides him for sure Verstappen, even if I knew it… he is very strong; Russell, also surprising, just think of the race he didn't win due to a problem in Bahrain in 2020, the first in Mercedes. Another is Albon, which is doing very well with the Williams. Without forgetting about Alonso always going strong, it's impressive; good too Or with who manages to stay close to him".
"Others surprised me negatively, as Ricciardo, from which I expected more. I was hoping for a little better Ferrari, which has lost a bit of performance compared to Red Bull".
As a driver, seeing what happened at Ferrari, how would you have handled the situation mentally in Leclerc's shoes, given the many drawbacks between reliability and strategy?
"Good question, surely I would be frustrated, especially when you have a car with enormous potential that they could have done better with. Unfortunately, with the mistakes made they lost points and possible victories. As a pilot must be very frustrating, but this frustration you have to let it slide. I would just try to ride and do the best I can. I think Leclerc has and is still demonstrating the driver he is and the speed he has. As a rider you would like to win and that the team doesn't make mistakes, but I think you should only think about riding doing the best you can, and the team will take care of the rest. "
The predictions on FantaF1
Let's move on to the game of FantaF1! In view of Singapore, who would you bet on among the top-end riders? Do you confirm Verstappen or are you betting on someone else?
"I bet on Leclerc, because I believe that Singapore, a track without long straights, fits Ferrari well. I think Leclerc will be able to play it. However, I do not rule out that too Mercedes could be strong. "
In the mid-range, who do you think could surprise?
“I say Lando Norris, for me it will aim for the top 5".
We also award points to those who finish in last place, who would you pick to grab some points?
"I'd say Latifsbut I wouldn't rule it out one of two Haas pilots, a team that is struggling compared to the beginning of the season. Between the two I would choose Schumacher, even if it is starting to be at the companion's level. Among others I also see Zhou as a contender, whereas he doesn't know the track like the others and could struggle more".
For enthusiasts and those most interested in following Formula 4, it is possible to watch it both on Sky channel 228, or for free on YouTube by searching for “Italian F4 championship”.
