With just a few days remaining for the 2025 season opener in Australia to take place, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli is awaiting his much-anticipated F1 debut.
The 18-year-old has been touted as one of the most talented youngsters in the sport today.
But little did people know about the other hidden talents of the #12 driver. In a recent video doing the rounds of X (formerly Twitter), Antonelli can be seen recalling lap times from his F2 season accurately.
A PREMA engineer reveals in the video, “Kimi remembers his lap times from all the sessions that he ever did in his life.”
Kimi Antonelli remembers every lap time he’s registered at a track ⏱️ pic.twitter.com/hWVjWA1bcc
— Autosport (@autosport) March 9, 2025
The Italian racing prodigy then went on to recall lap times from the previous rounds of the F2 championship he participated in — leaving even Ollie Bearman impressed.
But even more than that, this hidden skill of the #12 driver is a testament to his approach to life — living and breathing racing. As soon as this clip went viral, fans swarmed to the social media platform to laud the Italian for this.
Nah that’s incredible
— Jordan✌ (@Utd_Jordie) March 9, 2025
This kid lives and breaths racing.
— MotorSphere (@motor_sphere) March 9, 2025
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is a wizard. #F1 #MercedesAMGF1 https://t.co/joKrqo1Hmm
— Alex (@AbsCoverage) March 9, 2025
Kimi Antonelli has his work cut out for him with Mercedes F1 debut
Not only is Antonelli making his F1 debut his season — which in itself is a very big milestone for a driver — he is doing it for one of the biggest teams and replacing a seven-time world champion in Lewis Hamilton.
Naturally, the expectations surrounding his rookie season are immense. And with such a high level of interest and scrutiny around him, it increases the pressure on his young shoulders all the more.
That said, Antonelli has the benefit of having experienced drivers such as George Russell and Valtteri Bottas around to help him get settled at Brackley. Antonelli’s interaction and dynamic with the duo will be crucial to his development throughout this season.
However, Mercedes is well aware that Antonelli is just 18 and is unlikely to hit the ground running with immediate effect in his rookie season. So, Toto Wolff has already advised the Mercedes shareholders to have realistic expectations.
Mercedes will hope that Antonelli uses 2025 to learn as much as he can, so that he is ready to deliver when the all-important regulation changes take place next year.
