Antonelli hails ‘positive’ pre-season test as he looks forward to ‘surreal’ F1 debut with Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli was pleased with a “positive” pre-season test in Bahrain ahead of his debut F1 season, with the Italian admitting that he now “really cannot wait” for his first race with Mercedes at the Australian Grand Prix.

Antonelli – one of a fresh batch of rookies making the step up to Formula 1 this year – seemed keen to get going when Day 1 kicked off on Wednesday, the Italian having been the first to hit the track for the opening session.

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From there the 18-year-old gained one and a half days’ worth of experience at the wheel of the W16 and spoke positively about how the test had gone after completing his final laps on Friday morning, whilst also acknowledging that there are some areas for improvement.

“It was great,” Antonelli reflected. “It was nice to be back for official testing, and it felt pretty good with the car. Obviously still some work to do, [with] understanding the car and the tyres, but overall I think we did a good job.

“Last night I did a full race distance all in one go and it was pretty nice, also to do all the pit stops and so on. I think it was a positive test; as I said before, still some work to do but it was a decent start, and I really cannot wait for Melbourne.”

AS IT HAPPENED: All the action from Day 2 of 2025 pre-season testing in Bahrain

Pushed on how excited he is for his first weekend as an F1 driver – and what further preparation he will be carrying out over the next two weeks – Antonelli responded: “It’s a really special moment – it still feels surreal that next time we’re on track it’s going to be in Melbourne.

“But, of course, I’m super excited – it’s a great opportunity. I will spend some more days at the factory to prepare [for] Melbourne and all the other races, because it’s going to be a back-to-back with Melbourne and China. But yeah, really cannot wait, and let’s see what we can do.”

Antonelli ended his final morning in the car in second place on the timesheets, with team mate George Russell taking over driving duties for the last afternoon session of the three-day test ahead of the Australian Grand Prix on March 14-16.

READ MORE: Russell reflects on ‘different’ feeling at Mercedes after departure of ‘huge personality’ Hamilton