How is Andrea Kimi Antonelli preparing for his debut?

Racing drivers are athletes. But the 20 lucky ones who have the opportunity to participate in the Grands Prix probably have the best physical condition of any racing driver. Inevitably, when we move from promotional formulas to Formula 1, the gap is not only in terms of performance. The physical demands of driving an F1 car are incomparable, and that is precisely what Andrea Kimi Antonelli is discovering this winter.

The Italian, new recruit of Mercedes instead of Lewis Hamilton, during the discovery period at Ferrari in recent weeks, is currently following an intensive training program. At 18, the prodigy is strengthening his body and accelerating his growth. The menu is worthy of the best after-party remedies. Endless lengths of the pool to improve his breathing capacity and endurance (pilots spend most of their race holding their breath), weight training to strengthen the body in turns and braking phases, and strengthening the neck to avoid being subjected to the Gs and the weight of the helmet in high-speed curves. The head can weigh up to 5 times its initial weight!

« The real reason the neck is so important is to see where you're going. ", declared the former coach of Sebastian Vettel, Antti Kontsas, to the official website of F1 in 2024. The more stable your head is, the more information your brain receives, which can guide your decisions when you're driving on the track. If you can't see exactly where you're going and can't navigate the track properly, you have no chance of gaining a hundredth or tenth of a second that could make all the difference. »

 

See this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@mercedesamgf1)

This tedious work, all F1 drivers do it. But for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, it is a first, and a crucial passage. The rookie had until then never experienced a race exceeding an hour of effort in Formula 2. Now, he must be ready to face a Grand Prix lasting on average 1h30, or even more than 2h in the event of numerous neutralizations and whose regulatory limit is 3h. These photos also allow Mercedes to communicate about a new partner, the equipment supplier Adidas. The brand with the three stripes will supply the star team with clothing following an agreement concluded last month, and this, for a multi-year period.

 

See this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Andrea Kimi Antonelli (@kimi.antonelli)

The winter has also been busy outside of his sports and physical activities since Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been busy with his driving license. Indeed, the prodigy from Bologna took advantage of the winter break to get his hands on this precious sesame that will allow him to take the wheel elsewhere than on the circuit… at regulation speed of course.

ALSO READ > Andrea Kimi Antonelli in search of Verstappen and Hamilton's precocity records