Andrea Kimi Antonelli has performed admirably during his debut season in FIA Formula 2 having stepped straight onto the final step on the ladder to Formula 1 after winning the FRECA title.
The Italian took an unorthodox route into F2 by skipping FIA Formula 3 after winning the Italian F4 and Formula Regional Championship titles.
This is highly uncommon, as young drivers tend to drive in F3 before Formula 2, which is a sizeable leap from categories such as FRECA and GB3.
Antonelli has been ice-cool throughout 2024, however, with the Mercedes junior even a candidate to replace seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton at the German team.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli did not anticipate his jump from FRECA to FIA F2
Antonelli floundered during the opening few rounds of the Formula 2 season. The new Dallara-built car with its 3.4-litre single turbo-charged V6 also proved difficult for the PREMA team to grasp.
The Italian team have been consistent frontrunners at the second tier of motorsport, leading Charles Leclerc and Mick Schumacher to the title in 2017 and 2020.
PREMA scored just one point in the opening round in Bahrain, while future Haas F1 driver Ollie Bearman failed to score and Antonelli himself finished down in P10 in the Feature Race.
The 17-year-old has now said that moving directly from FRECA to F2 was an inviting opportunity although one he did not expect before Mercedes hatched their plan.
He told Autosport: “I never expected to go straight into F2. When they informed me that this was the plan, I thought it would be a big jump because you usually go to F3 first. But, at the same time, the challenge was immediately appealing to me.
“I didn’t plan on coming to F2 and winning everything, I was always aware that the jump from Formula Regional would be very challenging and I was aware that I had a lot to learn, which I am still doing.”
Antonelli is beginning to deliver results in Formula 2 after a tough start
The Italian driver made uncharacteristic errors during the opening stages of his F2 career. He grappled with a car that had much more power and downforce than he had driven previously.
Antonelli made an error in Saudi Arabia, damaging his front wing before spinning into the gravel trap in Australia.
After seven rounds of near misses, the PREMA driver finally took his first Formula 2 podium at Silverstone, winning the Sprint Race.
He took his second victory of the year in Hungary, benefitting from a late safety car after gambling on the alternate strategy. The teenager stormed from fifth place to the lead in the closing stages, using the extra grips of the soft tyres compared to his rivals on the hard tyre.
Antonelli now sits seventh in the standings with four rounds to go on 87 points. The Mercedes junior driver will compete at his home event at Monza before trips to Azerbaijan, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.