“I just did a little mistake on the theory, one mistake, but overall it went pretty well,” he explained. “I’m not going to lie, I was really nervous.
“I was really scared because I knew I had only that shot to do it, because otherwise once the season starts I don’t really have time to make it again, so I was telling myself that I really had to do it. Eventually it went well so it was a big relief.”
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Team Principal Toto Wolff, meanwhile, believes that Antonelli is well prepared for his F1 debut, having long been under the Silver Arrows’ wing as a junior driver.
“He’s been in the team, integrated for such a long time,” Wolff commented. “We’ve known him since he was 11, and in that respect, he’s been prepared, he’s ready to go and he can’t wait.”
Antonelli does not have long to wait until his season begins, with the teenager set to join the rest of the grid at the F1 75 Live season launch event to be held at London’s The O2 on February 18 before Mercedes unveil their new challenger – the W16 – to the world on February 24, just a few days before pre-season testing in Bahrain on February 26-28.