Kimi Antonelli is racing full-time in Formula 2 this season, but Mercedes are also evaluating him in a private testing programme. Thus far, he’s been very impressive. Antonelli drove an F1 car for the first time at the Red Bull Ring in Austria last month. Mercedes gave him the chance to test the constructors’ championship-winning 2021 challenger. Adverse weather limited his running in Spielberg, but there were no such issues in his second test at Imola. Behind the wheel of the 2022 car this time, he set lap times comparable to Lewis Hamilton on his long run. And he then ‘surprised everyone’ wi…
