Andrea Kimi Antonelli determined to go undercover at a Milton Keynes go-kart monitor initially of the System 1 winter break.
The Italian driver, who completed his rookie season for Mercedes in seventh within the drivers’ championship with 150 factors, selected the identify Henry Shovlin as his alias as he arrived on the Daytona Milton Keynes monitor. Whereas he did not win the principle race as a consequence of choosing up two penalties, he did set the quickest lap.
Daniel Prince from Daytona defined on BBC Three Counties Radio: “He really received two penalties for pushing too laborious, so did not end on the rostrum on the finish of it. However he did get the quickest lap of the race by no less than three seconds.”
Antonelli managed to stay unknown whereas he was carrying a helmet, however was recognised as quickly as he eliminated it.
“Everybody actually mobbed him so a member of workers shortly rescued him and put him behind the desk for a cheeky photograph by our celeb leaderboard, after which he ran away and left,” Prince continued.
Mercedes staff principal and CEO Toto Wolff praised Antonelli after his rookie season with the Brackley outfit.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photograph by: Hector Vivas / Getty Photos
“We have seen very sturdy races originally of the season, significantly in the direction of the tip. However I feel we by no means doubted within the velocity, the expertise and his potential,” Wolff defined throughout a Mercedes debrief video.
“It is simply you are being thrown to the cannibals in System 1. The extraordinary stress of the media, the duty it’s important to Mercedes – to the many individuals which are giving their all to offer you an engine and a automotive.
“And I feel in all probability that was the educational, all through the center of the season, significantly in Europe, with everyone wanting one thing from you. And he is an excellent particular person. So he did not need to say no both.
“And total, I’d say an excellent season, stuffed with studying, a powerful base to maneuver from right here and begin in 2026 with a brand new automotive, new to everybody. And you recognize what to anticipate.”
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