Mercedes F1 Junior Driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli Wins Third Race in a Row in Formula 4

Mercedes junior driver in Formula 4, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, recently made it three wins in a row as he took the checkered flag at the Yas Marina Circuit. The 15-year-old drives for Prema Racing and was signed by Mercedes F1 Team Principal Toto Wolff back in 2019.

Antonelli currently leads the championship with 75 points, sitting comfortably above second place by 21 points.

The Mercedes junior had won the opening round in a thrilling finish that separated the winner and the second-place driver by an astonishing three-thousandths of a second.

In the most recent race, he started on the pole and was only challenged for the win by Prema stablemate James Wharton. But after putting on some pressure on Antonelli that resulted in a lockup, a safety car meant the eventual race winner gathered himself again.

Towards the end, Wharton found himself unable to make a last-ditch attempt on Antonelli because of a mechanical issue.

This meant Antonelli won the race by a comfortable 5.8 seconds ahead of another Prema driver, Aiden Neate, while James Wharton finished in 23rd place.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli dreams of F1 and idolizes two of the very best

The 15-year-old who was signed on by Mercedes AMG at an age of 12-years-old admitted in an interview who his Formula 1 idols are.

“It will always be Ayrton Senna, but another driver I admire a lot right now is definitely Lewis Hamilton,” he said.

Antonelli admiring Hamilton is interesting because not only did he start his racing career at an early age like the seven-time world champion did, but he also has been signed on by a top team much like the Briton was by McLaren.

As for if he has any preferences for a team in F1 that he wants to drive for, Antonelli kept it real and simple.

“I hope to get there, then whatever the team is, I’ll accept it. Sooner or later, however, I would like to arrive in a team that can fight for the World Championship.”

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