Kimi Antonelli, from taking your schoolmates to F1 to posing with Valentino Rossi

"When we're on the plane back from Japan , I'll ask George (Russell) to help me with my math homework," Kimi Antonelli joked, but didn't hide one of his current challenges in his debut year in Formula 1: finding dates for his final secondary school exams, his final year of school.

In one of his recent social media videos, Antonelli was greeted by his classmates outside school. His boyish appearance contrasted sharply with the impressive Mercedes AMG 63 S that the brand provides him as a "company car," which he drove to school.

Before the start of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Antonelli and Mercedes pulled off a triple coup : they invited all of the young Italian driver's classmates, guiding them through the paddock and showing them the ins and outs of Formula 1. An anecdote that puts the scale and uniqueness of Antonelli's case into perspective. A youngster leaving school to compete in Formula 1, for one of the best teams in the category.

The Italian event also represented a monumental challenge for the 18-year-old, who lives near the circuit and had to manage the extraordinary pressure surrounding him at Imola. The result was logical and predictable.

"It was a really intense weekend, both mentally and emotionally. I think, for my part, I didn't handle things in the best way. Especially when it came to trying to save energy, I didn't do it very well , and I noticed that it also affected my driving a bit, as I noticed I was lacking energy," he acknowledged at the end of the Italian weekend. " It was certainly a great lesson in that regard for the next race at home. It was probably the worst weekend in terms of performance. I will try to recover well and come back stronger for Monaco," he acknowledged at the end, taking stock of the tsunami he faced at Imola.

"It's going to be exhausting"

His case is even more astonishing when you consider the context, because the young Italian prodigy is an exceptional case in the history of Formula 1. In 2019 alone, thirteen years ago, he won the WSK Super Master Series and the WSK Euro Series, and was astonishing the world of karting. Then he was poached by Toto Wolff. Before turning 18, Kimi was chosen by Mercedes to replace Lewis Hamilton.

The last Grand Prix was his debut against his fellow countrymen. If the pressure is exhausting for an experienced driver, it must be even more so for someone with so little experience under his belt. Furthermore, his experience at Monza in 2024 left its mark , when he crashed just a few laps into Free Practice 1.

"Monza was a terrible time for me as a driver, but I learned a lot. I changed a lot as a person, but also as a driver in terms of my approach since that weekend," the young Italian later acknowledged. "I'm not going to lie, when I arrived at FP1 at Monza, I was pushing. It was like I had no fear." Now he arrived at Imola as a factory driver.

At first, it was all good intentions and caution . "This weekend is definitely going to be emotionally and mentally draining , because it's a home race in front of the Italian fans, with my family and friends present, so it will be crucial to manage my energy, especially when I can, and not waste it on anything useless." Antonelli donned the badge on Thursday. It did little good.

"What was your time?"

Before confirming him as Hamilton's replacement, Mercedes subjected young Antonelli to exhaustive examinations for months to assess his potential move to Formula 1. As in lower categories, the engineers were amazed by his talent and ability to evolve . Perhaps that famous video on social media illustrates the mental and intellectual qualities that shape him as a young prodigy.

His engineer at the Prema team joked about his ability to remember his time from any session. After several questions, each one more bizarre than the last, Antonelli remembered down to the thousandths of a second. Oliver Bearman was across the table. "Remember when we raced at Monza in F4?" "What was your qualifying lap time?" With his smile on his face, Antonelli answered, "52.9?" Everyone stared at the camera, laughing in disbelief. He'd got it right again.

His debut with Mercedes is already marked by strokes of genius. Like his debut in Australia , when he finished fourth in conditions that knocked out so many experienced drivers. In Miami, he took pole in the sprint race and finished third on the grid. His inexperience is still evident in the race under the varying tire conditions and phases of the race, a knowledge that can only be accumulated through Grand Prix participation.

However, Imola added another dimension. From the visit of his schoolmates, media attention, fans, sponsors... How could the mind of a schoolboy assimilate that tsunami of attention and scrutiny? For the first time this season, he didn't make it into Q3 and qualified thirteenth . The German car wasn't at its best track at Imola, as Russell confirmed. Although he made it into the points after the Virtual Safety Car, he retired due to a problem with the throttle.

Not because he anticipated it, Kimo Antonelli failed to pay the dreaded price, despite all the precautions he had taken. It was the shock of a unique experience for a young prodigy, still a schoolboy. A challenge like finding dates for his final exams.