The inside story of Antonelli’s first F1 test

During the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, the Schonberghof Hotel is an unapproachable destination. Located just a few minutes walk from the paddock entrance of the Spielberg circuit, it is obviously reserved for Formula 1’s leading figures. 

The scenery changes completely when there are no races on the circuit, for example on a Tuesday last April. Spring arrives very slowly in these parts, the clothing is still wintery and the atmosphere is reminiscent of the pre-season tests when they took place in Barcelona.

The restaurant at the Schonberghof Hotel is accessible, and Italian and English are spoken at one of the tables. Andrea Kimi Antonelli casually switches his native language to speak English to Stephane Guerin, a Mercedes consultant at his side since he took his first steps in single-seaters.

“Wiener schnitzel for everyone?” Antonelli says, and the table follows him almost unanimously. Twelve hours later, he climbs into a Formula 1 single-seater for the first time, the Mercedes W12 that Lewis Hamilton drove in the dramatic 2021 season.

In all careers there are special days that come unexpectedly, others that are dreams that slowly take shape and then come true. The first test behind the wheel of a Formula 1 single-seater, for all drivers who have had this opportunity, is something destined to remain in their memory forever.

There is no trace of nervousness: probably his parents Marco and Veronica disguise it very well. Antonelli holds his own, ranging from the driver’s seat – “It looks very comfortable” – to the weather: “Just in case I have to do my first laps at the wheel of a Formula 1 car with wet tyres.”

Antonelli doesn’t yet know that it won’t just be the rain that will accompany him in his first test in an F1 car; in the afternoon, snow will also arrive. He devours his wiener schnitzel but has zero concessions to sweets or drinks other than strictly still water. Dad Marco breaks the ice a little by asking “What did the engineers tell you?”

“The programme will depend on the weather,” Antonelli replies. “I was surprised to see them all very excited.”

Among the tasks Antonelli completed on the eve of his first Formula 1 test was to memorise the names of all the engineers he would be working with. He asked Mercedes for a file with all the staff he would meet on the track, linking names to faces and memorising everything, a way to speed up the process of getting…