Teenager Kimi Antonelli crashes in F1 practice debut for Mercedes at Italian GP

MONZA, Italy (AP) — Teenager Kimi Antonelli’s Formula 1 debut lasted just 10 minutes on Friday.

Antonelli, who only turned 18 on Sunday, was involved in a high-speed crash in the first practice session for the Italian Grand Prix.

Driving George Russell's Mercedes, Antonelli lost control at Monza's iconic Parabolica corner, spinning off the track and flying through the gravel trap into the barriers, knocking off the front wing of the car.

A distraught-sounding Antonelli was swift to apologise on radio and the young Italian was immediately reassured by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.

Antonelli is widely expected to be announced as Russell’s teammate for next season, replacing the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton. And Wolff said the crash would have “zero effect” on Mercedes' decision.

“Most important is to hire based on ability. And an FP1 that’s gone wrong is not a reason why you decide for or against a driver,” Wolff said.

Antonelli received his first taste of what it would be like to step up when he was given Russell’s car for the opening practice session at Monza.

There were promising signs for the very limited time he was on the track. But Antonelli was keen to impress, perhaps too keen, and he crashed after seemingly taking too much speed into the final corner of his second lap.

The debutant had just set the fastest middle sector of the session and was looking to reclaim the fastest time from Hamilton, who had just beaten Antonelli’s first lap by 0.6 seconds.

“He’s a rookie, he's very young,” Wolff said. "We're prepared to invest into his future. Theses moments they will happen, they will continue to happen next year, but there will also be a lot of highlights.

“We’d rather have a problem slowing him down than making him faster. Because what we saw in one-and-a-half runs was astonishing.”

The session had to be stopped for nearly a quarter of an hour after the crash.

Antonelli was checked over at the medical center before walking back to the Mercedes garage, where he was given a big hug by Wolff.

“To take the pressure off (before practice) I told him ‘We live in our micro bubble here, no one's interested in FP1 anyway, whatever happens happens, we just get on with things.’ And I told him the same after the session,” Wolff said.

Wolff said Antonelli would likely be given another go at the Mexico Grand Prix in two months' time.

There is likely to be less of a media circus around him there than at Monza, where excitement is growing over the prospect of a first Italian F1 driver in three years.

Italy has had to wait since 2006 for a win in F1 and much long for the title, as the last Italian champion was Ciccio Ascari in 1953.

“A strong driver needs to recover from these things and cope with the pressure,” Wolff said. "Obviously this weekend wasn’t easy for him because ... you have all these shenanigans around you in Monza, Italian kid that’s been hired first time in a Mercedes, and that must be a heavy burden.

“But if he wants to be a champion one day he needs to cope with that and I have no doubt that he can and he will.”

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Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car during the first free practice ahead of the Formula One Italian Grand Prix race at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy prepares for the first free practice ahead of the Formula One Italian Grand Prix race at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy enters his car during the first free practice ahead of the Formula One Italian Grand Prix race at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy enters his car during the first free practice ahead of the Formula One Italian Grand Prix race at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy thus up in the paddock at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Thursday, Aug.29, 2024. The Formula one race will be held on Sunday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy prepares for the first free practice ahead of the Formula One Italian Grand Prix race at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Charles Leclerc qualified on pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday as Max Verstappen was sixth and Lando Norris only 17th in a session that could have a big impact on the title race.

Ferrari's Leclerc, who won the last race in Italy, was fastest by .321 seconds from McLaren's Oscar Piastri, with the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz Jr. in third.

Norris was on what seemed to be a lap fast enough to progress from the first part of qualifying as one of the top 15. But he told broadcaster Sky that “I had to lift” — slow down — because of a yellow flag that was apparently for Esteban Ocon's slow-moving Alpine. Norris' time from his first lap missed the 15th-place cutoff by .137 of a second.

“There’s a long race ahead, we have some good tires in the bank, I’m still hopeful we can get a good result. I think the car is quick. Bit frustrating, but nothing I can do,” Norris said.

Norris is second in the standings, 62 points behind Verstappen with eight rounds of the championship remaining.

There was a bizarre incident in the final part of qualifying when Williams' Alex Albon stopped on his way out of the pits to remove a large piece of cooling equipment that the team had left in his air intake. Albon qualified 10th and was facing an investigation from the stewards after the session.

Albon's teammate Franco Colapinto, in only his second F1 race weekend, qualified ninth and British teen Oliver Bearman, standing in at Haas for the suspended Kevin Magnussen, was 11th after recovering from a crash in third practice Saturday morning.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands enters the pit lane during the Formula One Grand Prix qualifying in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (Ali Haideric/Pool via AP)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain in action during a Formula One Grand Prix practice in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco in action during a Formula One Grand Prix qualifying in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)