KIMI ANTONELLI CRASHES MERCEDES MINUTES INTO F1 DEBUT AFTER MICHAEL SCHUMACHER COMPARISON

Ted Kravitz compared the interest in Andrea Kimi Antonelli's maiden Formula 1 session to the hype which once surrounded a young Michael Schumacher - minutes before the teenager crashed.

The Sky Sports F1 pit lane reporter was stood in front of the Mercedes garage ahead of first practice at the Italian Grand Prix as he made the claim. Kravitz was previewing Antonelli's first FP1 session as the 18-year-old took George Russell's car for a spin around the Monza track.

Antonelli is expected to become Mercedes' next F1 driver, replacing Lewis Hamilton with the seven-time champion headed to Ferrari next season. As such, there was plenty of interest in how the teenager got on as he got behind the wheel of the W15.

But it was a disastrous debut as, just 10 minutes into the session, he lost control of the car and buried it into the barrier. He immediately apologies over the radio, prompting boss Toto Wolff to reply: "All good, Kimi, all good."

Hamilton, who was also out on track in the other Mercedes at the time, immediately asked if his successor was okay when he was informed of the accident over the radio. His race engineer Peter Bonnington replied to say he believed that no damage had been done.

The force of the impact triggered the FIA's automatic system which meant Antonelli was taken to the medical centre to be checked over. But the youngster had climbed out of the car under his own power and walked away and seemed to be unharmed.

It was only around 10 minutes after Kravitz had made that comparison to legendary seven-time F1 champion Schumacher. The Sky reporter had said: "I've been working in this pit lane for 23 years and I've seldom seen attention like Kimi Antonelli is getting at the front of this garage.

"It was three deep with photographers at the front of the garage. I haven't seen attention on a driver like this since the Michael Schumacher days - I promise you, it's that much. Bearing in mind you've got Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, the stars of Ferrari, you've got Lewis Hamilton in the next garage for heaven's sake!

"He's going to be a Ferrari driver next year, and yet it's the Italian star of tomorrow and the man who we all expect to be a Formula 1 driver for Mercedes next year who's getting all the attention. Star quality and expectation, and that's why he's so popular at the moment."

Mercedes are expected to announce Antonelli's impending promotion to the team this weekend, in the 18-year-old's home country. His crash in practice is not expected to make any difference to the team's plans.

2024-08-30T11:53:39Z dg43tfdfdgfd