Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes debut comes to a sudden end at the Italian Grand Prix

Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images

The young driver found the barrier at Monza after a thunderous first lap

Andrea Kimi Antonelli made his long-anticipated debut for Mercedes on Friday at Monza, driving in George Russell’s place during the first practice session. His first lap was a thunderous effort, a lap on the soft compound around the “Temple of Speed” that put him atop the timing sheets for a brief moment, ahead of names like Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.

His second lap was a different story.

Antonelli endured a high-speed spin off the track at Parabolica, careening into the barrier. The incident brought out the red flag, and ended his FP1 session minutes after it began:

The young driver immediately reported that he was okay over the radio. Antonelli also apologized to the team for the crash, drawing some words of comfort from Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff:

Now Mercedes faces the tall task of getting that car ready for Russell for the second practice session ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. Complicating matters for the team is the fact that Mercedes was running the new floor for the W15, installed at the Belgian Grand Prix, on the car Antonelli was driving. Lewis Hamilton was driving a car with the older floor, so Mercedes can compare data between the two.

Now that bit of data collection is out the window.

The circuit at Monza underwent several changes ahead of this year’s Italian Grand Prix, including a resurfacing of the track that drivers are grappling with as they get ready for Sunday’s main event.

Friday was indeed all part of the learning process for the young driver, who remains the favorite to slide into Hamilton’s seat for next season.