Behind the curtain: inside the F1 debut of Andrea Kimi Antoneley

Andrea Kimi AntoneleySmartphone pinging to indicate the arrival of your Thursday’s program. As with all things MercedesIts quickness corresponds to its expansion: for more than 24 hours their first race-visible track session remains completely as Formula 1 driver, but he has already been to align his body’s watch over the local time in Melbourne for several days.

“Are we really going to manage to do all this today?” Kimi asked after examining the color-coded spreadsheet.

At nine in the morning, a media session is scheduled with the team-mate George RussellReserve driver Vultiry botas And at a sea coastal site in St. Killed with the team’s boss Toto Wolf, Port Philip Bay with the sea beyond the sea. As specified in the schedule, the Antonally Team has been selected for the race weekend in 2025 wearing gear marcedes.

“How do I see?” Kimi asks with a touch of pride. Then he steps on the stage and, from that moment, the real piece begins.

This is unfortunate, if the state of Antonely is given as a crook with his F1 trip, then many of his questions are related to the former living in his seat – Lewis HamiltonThis is a well for which his conversations return again and again.

“I don’t want to be arrogant,” Kimi says, “but I want to write my story. I don’t know what the future is, but I just want to follow my way.”

Once the media session is over, it is on the track for a meeting with engineers to discuss direct weekends. The rest of the day is fixed by the business, both sports and marketing: Mandatory FIA Weight-in, the official picture of all drivers on the grid (are they all still at the end of the season?), Their first official FIA press conference, a social media session for the team, an autograph session, which is a meeting with Australian football players, a meeting with another briefing.

Although he does not show this, Kimi is eagerly waiting for his family arrival in Melbourne on Thursday – his father Marco, Mother Veronica and younger sister Maggi. They are living in a separate hotel and, each morning, he picks them up himself – passing his driving test six weeks ago.

“Now that I have my driving license, it’s only appropriate,” they say. “They fired me from all around for years.”

On Friday, starts early for km: at 8 am in the gym with its performance coach, Serji Avila. This is not a feel-the-burn workout. Like other coaches on the grid, Avila is just more than an individual trainer-she acts as a driver and helps managing stress before large weekends.

“We always begin with dynamics practice,” Avila explains, “so quick activation and visual exercise. It also helps us assess that sleep quality was sufficient.”

With several other F1 drivers, typically, Antoneley wears a ‘smart ring’ that tracks physical activity and can supply avila with various health and performance matrix, as well as monitor sleep cycles.

“Sleep-tracking makes it impossible to stay late for drivers,” Avila laughs. “We will know immediately.”

Every aspect of the prolonged journey of Antoneley from Italy to Melbourne was carefully planned, including a day’s stay in Kuala Lumpur. The body’s natural circadian rhythm-sok-sopek-sopes-cycles-but gradually, and is mainly guided by sunlight.

“This (stopover) helps to adjust the km more progressively into the time area,” says Avila. “We also selected flights overnight in the morning.”

Driver is another important factor in health and performance, but Avila does not see any problem there: “Km is lucky to come from a family that prefer healthy food.”

On reaching the track, an unique feature of Antoneley Melbourne is revealed. The driver is one of the few people allowing to drive on the internal roads of Albert Park – and, once they reach the reserved parking area, they have to walk on the ‘Melbourne Walk’, a route that has become a major attraction for fans. The tradition determines that every F1 celebrity stops for autographs, photos and greetings.

“Wow, so many people!” Kimi said that he takes this heavy mass of fans to the spectacle, most of them excluded merchandise photos and objects to sign for him. This is Australia, a country with a long F1 tradition, everyone knows who he is despite his crook situation: “Km!” They scream, and the volume only increases because it comes closer.

A fan hands him an old carting photo. “Where did you get this?” He asks, surprised. Other people congratulate him in Italian (“We are not here Ferrari“) Or wishes him a podium finish, for which he responds carefully,” perhaps! it will take time … “

As soon as the km route moves, the Christian Horner beats him, feeling that the young attracts less attention than the Italian – a fact that will probably give him the reason for the chaf, given how he carefully groans his profile through the choice of drive to survive. This is a good 20 minutes ago when Antoneley finally reaches Padock Gates and swipes with it.

The km agenda is packed: greetings, a quick team meeting, and answers to accurate technical questions, surrounded by engineers, with all headset and screen. It is like NASA’s control room, but, for so long the Mercedes Young-Dryver is in the set-up, Antoneley is fully familiar with the environment.

Toto wolff comes just before FP1. “Everything is fine, km?” A different spirit is crawling in the air in the garage, as minutes tick the moment when the cars exit on the track. Antoneley just shakes the head – he is already in ‘Race mode’.

Flies by day. After FP2, Antoneley sang its session: “Our long-lasting speed looks solid. I still need to fix my warm-up lap with soft tires.” His mother lovingly rubbed her hair.

“It’s good, but I need to improve a lot,” he believes. His father offers two observation, and km shakes the head before going to another engineering debrif.

“I was running here in F2 last year,” he says, “but in an F1 car it looks completely different. Everything changes – even tires are completely different from the test.”

Bonington assures her: “Good start.” But it is clear that Antoneley wants more.

On Saturday morning, the fan begins with another round of conversation, but the real highlight for the local crowd at 11 am: a ‘fan zone’ event. A car is called to whisk Antoneley and Russell, where all 20 drivers are caused by the diversion visible on the platform.

As they approach, the km does something unusual for an F1 driver. The windows of their car are tinted, hiding the living eyes from the eyes – but Antoneley rolled below to congratulate the crowd. “So many people! It is very good to see so many emotional fans, and they are mostly young.”

Kimi brought Maggi along and they walk in the backstage, the moments captured by the photographers and were duly disintegrated on social media as a prime example of ‘full feel’. On stage, he and Russell receive a permanent ovation.

“Looks like a concert!” Excluses Maggi.

Ten minutes of questions, a quick game with the audience, some cap-banging-then on the padock for qualifying back. Along with all other aspects of the day, the driver is on the clock, so they return again by the car.

The next track session completes the most disappointing moment of their weekend. After damaging the car floor on turn 6 curb, Antoneley fails to pursue the previous Q1 and further work becomes more difficult.

As a herd in herd to assess damage to his underfloor under their mechanics W16, the rest of the team rally round. “No worries, this happens – let’s focus on tomorrow,” they assure him.

Antoneley forces a smile, but his frustration is clear. His P5 speed in FP3 suggested a much better result than his final P16 grid spot.

“But if it really rains yesterday …” his father predicted, investigating the forecast.

On Sunday, ‘Ifs’ departure – as predicted, rain comes, and it is quite heavy to cancel the race of Formula 2. There is no place to delay the track schedule, or even after the Grand Prix, because everything is to be packed for China’s further visit to China at the end of next week.

“Imagine disappointment,” says km. “Traveling and racing for Australia in all ways!

The next question is whether the Grand Prix will be affected equally. As the time of the race is near, stress is formed -for the km and its parents, and the rest to the grid. Only Maggi feels relaxed, captured with his color pen in the Mercedes hospitality lounge.

Just when it seems that the rains have finished adequately to achieve the Grand Prix on time, then there is a 15 -minute delay. Isac Hadzar Crunch in obstacles on formation lap. As the grid is finally going to start again, Kimi’s mother decided that watching the TV footage is very stressful: she removes herself with a screen screen in a private room.

This is a good call – she avoids the moment of nervousness when it rotates after touching the grass on the km 3 turn 3. But from there, it is a stages of remarkable recovery. After lap, lap, he climbs on orders.

Two laps from finish, Toto Volf calls his parents into the garage. After moments, the checker flag confirms the P4 finish of the antoneley. The throat patches and smiles on the back as they cross the firms to meet her.

The entire team gathers under the podium to celebrate Russell’s P3 Finnish, which is the head of ‘Pen’ for the compulsory phase of post -Antoneli interviews. “I want to say, the questions were all quite pleasant,” he comments.

Back to the Mercedes Hospitality Lounge, Wolf is the most attached – the person who has supported the talent of Antonally because it feels that during his carting days. The short walk from the interview area to the headquarters of the team takes more time than any other day, now everyone stops the km for greetings, handshakes and high-fiots. He smiles, thanks all of them, and seems overwhelmed by the honor he has earned.

When sitting down, his first words say: “Now I can say that I have erased Monza.”

Last year in the Italian Grand Prix Weekend, his first FP1 outing inspired the appreciation and questions in similar measurements as he attacked Ellen with speed and before crashing.

“Oh, and I hope you saw me on Albon – not bad, huh?” He grines, then monitors the results of the race. “Good … I have some very big names behind me, right?”

The table of the Antoneli family is at the hospitality entrance, and stays by the well -wishers. “Tonight? I am sleeping – on the plane. We immediately leave for Shanghai.”

While his family enjoys a brief holiday in Australia, Kimi distanced dozens of dozens soon after the takeoff. Just before switching, however, he reads one last message from Wolf: “In future, stay away from white lines and grass.”

Kimi Chakallas. “Looks like he was more scared than me …”