189 replies to this topic

[garoidb]

If they did, it didn't take long for them to decide: Decision to promote Antonelli took ‘five minutes’ – Wolff | RACER

 

I don't entirely trust Toto's post hoc rationalisations. The headline misses that plan A was for Lewis to continue and plan B appears to have been trying to get Max (and that took longer than 5 minutes). Did they really not talk to Sainz at all? There would have had to be a different plan for Antonelli if any of those things were going to happen. So, saying his first instinct was to do what has come to pass is a nice positive thing to say but its fairly meaningless really. As in, its easy to say now.

Edited by garoidb, 31 August 2024 - 14:25.

[B38]

Smart. Gaining experience in a lower tier team and when he is ready for the top, he goes to McLaren.

[PlatenGlass]

Apparently he wants kimi but I'm sorry it's asinine. Should just be antonelli, be your own man.

 

I certainly won't be calling him Kimi. I wouldn't normally use just a given name anyway, but especially won't in this case given the existence of Raikkonen and that it's not even his first name.

[Bleu]

I presume Kimi Antonelli will get some more FP1 sessions from now on in order to help him prepare for next year. Have any already been scheduled or announced?

 

Hamilton has to give his car for one FP1. But as there is three street circuits and three sprint remaining I don't see much chances. He can probably do a run for Aston Martin or Williams in Mexico or Abu Dhabi (with the other one in Mercedes)

[DJH63]

I suspect they considered putting him in a less prominent team for a year to learn

They wanted him to do half a year at Williams but they demanded a minimum 18 months which left Wolff the issue of who to put in the Merc for 2025. Sainz was only interested in a multi year deal so they’d have ended up with Schumacher maybe in the Merc and Antonelli in the Williams…..in which case they might as well put Antonelli right in at the front.

 

He came into F2 alongside Bearman at 17 and has been quicker and better on the tyres so I think he will be fine in F1 starting at the big boys table.

[noikeee]

Still this is all implying it's not a good idea, but Mercedes might prove to be an ideal place for a rookie to develop. So much is about the people and the relationships between them, very hard to analyse from the outside. And expectations for a Mercedes driver are not as high as they would've been 5 years ago.

I don't agree with this because this year Mercedes aren't fighting for the title sure, but it very much looks like they're improving fast. Antonelli is quite likely to have a championship capable car next year...

[pacificquay]

Hamilton has to give his car for one FP1. But as there is three street circuits and three sprint remaining I don't see much chances. He can probably do a run for Aston Martin or Williams in Mexico or Abu Dhabi (with the other one in Mercedes)

Did Colapinto run in Albon’s car at Silverstone? If he did, Williams doesn’t have to give anyone else an FP1 this year

[Deeq]

Smart. Gaining experience in a lower tier team and when he is ready for the top, he goes to McLaren.

🤣🤣🤣

[William Hunt]

I certainly won't be calling him Kimi. I wouldn't normally use just a given name anyway, but especially won't in this case given the existence of Raikkonen and that it's not even his first name.

It is indeed confusing. His full first name consists of to first names: Andrea Kimi, but he himself prefers to be called just Kimi.

[Bleu]

Did Colapinto run in Albon’s car at Silverstone? If he did, Williams doesn’t have to give anyone else an FP1 this year

 

No, he was in Sargeant's car.

[William Hunt]

Williams will have to run another rookie anyhow on Friday, since the regulations determine they have to enter one rookie twice or two rookies once at minimum. Whether Colapinto had used Albon's or Sargeants car previously is irrelevant.

They surely will give Zak O'Sullivan another Friday practice session.

Edited by William Hunt, 31 August 2024 - 16:03.

[garoidb]

It is indeed confusing. His full first name consists of to first names: Andrea Kimi, but he himself prefers to be called just Kimi.

 

I'm still getting over the fact that when people are discussing Bernie on here, they now mean the Sky strategy analyst and not .... you know  ..... Bernie.

[Maustinsj]

Which other Kimis might he have been named after?

Maybe his parents really liked Wagamama and it’s short for kimchi?

Edited by Maustinsj, 31 August 2024 - 16:28.

[Risil]

Kimchi Antonelli. Spicy, full of goodness and needs to be kept sealed up for a while before he's ready. Well, two out of three.

[loki]

Press release doesn’t mention 2026… leaving the bed warm for Max

Or an out for Russell to Andretti Cadillac…

[ensign14]

Senna is hardly a glamorous name!

 Especially if it's a woman who marries Mr Podd.  © Carry On Cleo

[Sterzo]

Reminds me of someone who used to do some karting, British guy called ‘Ayrton’…can’t remember his last name but it was something really generic like ‘Evans’…not quite as glamorous sounding as Senna… 

Ayrton Simmons. Did pretty well in British F4 and F3, and now competes in something like LMP3. I always felt sorry for him because of his name.

[noriaki]

I saw an interview clip Mercedes PR linked to where he said he's not named after the racing driver (OK, nice and categorical), but instead was named by a family friend.

Seemed like a non sequitur to me, unless in Italian you say that when you mean you were named after them? Was the family friend named Kimi?

In any case when you actually name a baby you don't normally close your eyes and imagine the greatest man in history and then give them the same first name, normally the logic is a bit fuzzier than that.

 

To add to the story, the said family friend was Enrico Bertaggia - of Coloni and Andrea Moda fame! Andrea's parents wanted a foreign middle name for the kid, and Bertaggia suggested Kimi - but, apparently, not as a tribute to Raikkonen - just because it "sounded nice" with Andrea Antonelli.

 

So, it's a fact that he wasn't named strictly after Raikkonen - but Raikkonen (and his signing with Ferrari at the time of Antonelli's birth being all over Italian press) was most certainly the reason the name became famous enough for Bertaggia to even think of it, because he was effectively the only Kimi who was famous and not a Japanese woman. 

[Frood]

There's a few Sennas out there as a first name, too. Former BTCC racer Senna Proctor. Moto2 rider Senna Agius. Mind you, you could be on the MotoGP package and be named after a worse Brazilian F1 driver, like Zonta van den Goorbergh.

[MaxisOne]

Congrats to him. Looking forward to see how it goes.

[Risil]

To add to the story, the said family friend was Enrico Bertaggia - of Coloni and Andrea Moda fame! Andrea's parents wanted a foreign middle name for the kid, and Bertaggia suggested Kimi - but, apparently, not as a tribute to Raikkonen - just because it "sounded nice" with Andrea Antonelli.

So, it's a fact that he wasn't named strictly after Raikkonen - but Raikkonen (and his signing with Ferrari at the time of Antonelli's birth being all over Italian press) was most certainly the reason the name became famous enough for Bertaggia to even think of it, because he was effectively the only Kimi who was famous and not a Japanese woman.

On that basis I feel 99% confident he was indeed named after Kimi Raikkonen

[Risil]

Good Enrico Bertaggia story too

[MKSixer]

Ayrton Simmons. Did pretty well in British F4 and F3, and now competes in something like LMP3. I always felt sorry for him because of his name.

I wonder if he is a descendant of the long-dead, Thag Simmons, after whom the Thagomizer is named?

Edited by MKSixer, 31 August 2024 - 22:01.

[Grippy]

I wonder if he is a descendant of the long-dead, Thag Simmons, after whom the Thagomizer is named?

That's a blast from the past! along with the Olduvai pothole and the La Brea's carpet

[Radion]

Good for him.

There's only going to be one Kimi though.

[PayasYouRace]

There's a few Sennas out there as a first name, too. Former BTCC racer Senna Proctor. Moto2 rider Senna Agius. Mind you, you could be on the MotoGP package and be named after a worse Brazilian F1 driver, like Zonta van den Goorbergh.

I like how after years of Brazilians being given our surnames and place names as given names (Emerson, Nelson, Ayrton, etc), the reverse is happening now.

[B38]

I'm still getting over the fact that when people are discussing Bernie on here, they now mean the Sky strategy analyst and not .... you know  ..... Bernie.

Max. Max Mosley. Not to be confused with VES, excuse me, I mean VER.

 

How about calling Kimi Antonelli "Kianto" to avoid confusion?

[flyboym3]

Big risk, I wouldn't have done it.
Championships look on in 2025.
He is going to crash so many times like vettel and verstappen before him. They even had crashing nickname monikers!

Wouldve been better off forcing him into Williams using their Vowles as a contact instead of that noname vowles got.

[AlexPrime]

Good for him.

There's only going to be one Kimi though.

That we shall see

[DJH63]

Big risk, I wouldn't have done it.
Championships look on in 2025.
He is going to crash so many times like vettel and verstappen before him. They even had crashing nickname monikers!

Wouldve been better off forcing him into Williams using their Vowles as a contact instead of that noname vowles got.

So who do you put in the Merc for 2025?

[Sterzo]

Big risk, I wouldn't have done it.
Championships look on in 2025.
He is going to crash so many times like vettel and verstappen before him. They even had crashing nickname monikers!

Wouldve been better off forcing him into Williams using their Vowles as a contact instead of that noname vowles got.

Did Vettel and Verstappen end up as disasters? And why exactly is it better to crash a Williams than a Mercedes?

[Gambelli]

Big risk, I wouldn't have done it.
Championships look on in 2025.
He is going to crash so many times like vettel and verstappen before him. They even had crashing nickname monikers!

Wouldve been better off forcing him into Williams using their Vowles as a contact instead of that noname vowles got.

 

I think Oscar only had one crash last year didn't he?  I mean losing control crash not collisions with other cars.  So it shows you can be driving near the front in your first season, have pretty reasonable pace, and not crash the car a lot.

 

Oscar had a lot more experience though of course.

[pdac]

I like how after years of Brazilians being given our surnames and place names as given names (Emerson, Nelson, Ayrton, etc), the reverse is happening now.

 

Too many common people on here. One would never refer to people by their given name if educated in a good public (private) school.

Edited by pdac, 01 September 2024 - 10:58.

[Secretariat]

Max. Max Mosley. Not to be confused with VES, excuse me, I mean VER.

 

How about calling Kimi Antonelli "Kianto" to avoid confusion?

I am going with Anakin as long as he continues to wear black race overalls. 

[garoidb]

So who do you put in the Merc for 2025?

 

That hits the nail on the head. Having someone in for just one year is disruptive and you are not going to get the choice of driver that Mercedes would normally enjoy. I think you would end up with someone like Mick Schumacher. I have nothing against him but I wouldn't be getting excited about it either.

 

As well as being disruptive, it's difficult to configure an attractive one year deal for a driver with other options, it looks underwhelming to the outside world including sponsors when your new driver is already going to be out at the end of the year, its a learning curve between driver and team that goes nowhere in the end. At the end of it you are bringing in Kimi for 2026 to begin an embedding process that could have been happening in 2025.

Edited by garoidb, 01 September 2024 - 11:41.

[SophieB]

Re Antonelli in karting:

 

 

@HSouthwellFE
​"Toto didn't even pay the full budget, I had to subsidise him personally" - Nico Rosberg just continuing to drop random truth bombs re: Kimi Antonelli

[santori]

Is there a consensus on what people are going to be calling him because I’m minded to call him Kimi and reckon it’s going to be clear from context which Kimi I’m talking about. Kimi is such a pleasing name to write and say aloud so I’m not inclined to let a fresh chance to use it vanish into the long grass.

 

 

Also Known As.

Edited by santori, 01 September 2024 - 12:28.

[B38]

Edit: sorry, my bad!

Edited by B38, 01 September 2024 - 13:06.

[mclara]

Good and bold move.

If the car is good next year I'm sure he will be fine. But there will be times where he will struggle

[Bleu]

Next year, Antonelli has three races time to beat Max's record as the youngest winner.