Antonelli left ‘surprised’ by unique F1 detail

Kimi Antonelli has detailed he has been left surprised by the intensity that is involved in F1 following his initial experience as a rookie.

Antonelli made his F1 debut at the Australian Grand Prix earlier this month with Mercedes having been promoted to the team following Lewis Hamilton's exit to Ferrari.

The Italian became the second-youngest point-scorer in F1 history at Melbourne with a drive to fourth place before following up with a sixth-place finish last weekend in China.

Having ascended through the junior ranks at a rapid pace, Antonelli is still getting adjusted to the intense schedule that comes with F1.

Reflecting on his initial encounter as a full-time driver, Antonelli told media including RacingNews365: “I think what really impressed me during [Australia] was the intensity.

“So already, from FP1, the level of intensity of the session and post-sessions really surprised me.

“And also in terms of driving, from FP1, people might not think it but already it's also intense, because as a driver, you want to be on top of the game.”

Antonelli described the high-intensity levels are not exclusive to when he is behind the wheel of Mercedes' W15 challenger.

“You want to be there, you want to be fast,” he added. “You want to kick off the weekend well.

“What really surprised me was the level of intensity that I have to keep in order to perform and be able to stay with the front-runners.

“Also off-track of course. You finish the session and you have to do a post-session debrief and it needs to be a good one.

“It can really help the team progress during the weekend.”