Mercedes forced Kimi Antonelli to do something he ‘completely’ hates to prepare for his debut F1 season

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been one of the most talked-about drivers on the grid during the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Mercedes decided to promote Kimi Antonelli to Lewis Hamilton’s race seat after the seven-time world champion decided to move to Ferrari.

Team principal Toto Wolff realised before the campaign started that Antonelli would have a tricky task on his hands.

Wolff tried to temper expectations around Antonelli before the season started, but there have been moments of brilliance, such as his Sprint Race pole position in Miami and his podium finish at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Unfortunately, Antonelli’s run-up to the summer break was far from ideal and showed Mercedes the perils of putting a rookie in such a pressurised situation.

Mechanical failures in Imola and Barcelona, a qualifying crash in Monaco, and two Q1 exits at Spa have seen Antonelli cut adrift in the drivers’ championship from the top six drivers.

Antonelli has now spoken about his preparations for the season and how Mercedes put him through his paces.

Before making his debut, Antonelli did thousands of kilometres of testing, but the team put him in a far more uncomfortable position before the campaign started.

READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats

Mercedes forced Kimi Antonelli to practice media duties that he ‘completely’ hates

In an interview with Crash, Antonelli described taking part in mock press conferences with journalists.

He explained: “Definitely, I’ve been doing a lot of media training.

“At the start of the year, she brought me into a studio, it was in London, and we’ve been doing like a simulation of press conferences, TV pen.

“It was external, it was [with] people that were complete strangers. I had cameras on me and so on. It was a cool day because after every interview, I was re-watching them as well, which is something I completely hate. I don’t like re-watching my interviews; it was hard to do it.

“But at the same time, it was useful as well to understand a bit [about] my body language and how I interact. When I was trackside, they were getting me to do interviews, activities, and appearances, all just to get an understanding of what I have to do, other than driving during a race weekend.

“There’s been a lot of work going on before the season, already from last year, also to prepare myself outside the track.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Lewis Hamilton looking after Kimi Antonelli during F1 media sessions

Antonelli has been involved in several official press conferences, as well as doing the more impromptu interviews that are a key part of each race weekend.

Hamilton was seen comforting Antonelli at the Belgian Grand Prix, after a really difficult weekend for the teenager.

The two drivers were paired in the pre-race press conference that weekend, and the topic of Antonelli’s contract was brought up.

Antonelli’s current deal expires at the end of the season, and while Wolff has suggested that an extension is imminent, nothing has been confirmed yet.

During the media session, Hamilton joked: “I can help you with the contract. I know how to work Toto.”

That level of ease with journalists is something that Antonelli will develop, and Hamilton has plenty of experience in that area.

However, even the seven-time world champion sometimes struggles when pressed by the media, as the headlines about him suggesting Ferrari ‘change drivers’ just a week later after qualifying in Hungary can attest to.