Teen Sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli Claims Victory in Hungary: A Game-Changer for Mercedes and the F2 Season

by time news

The 17-year-old Italian from Mercedes dominates in Hungary with breathtaking overtakes, fastest laps, and perfect tire management: here’s why it could be a turning point of the season

Who knows, the Budapest weekend could really be the turning point of the season and, why not, also of Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s young career. The protégé of Toto Wolff and Mercedes, who have heavily invested in him since 2012 (when he was still a child racing in karts), certainly showed all his talent in the Feature Race of Formula 2 in Hungary: the seventeen-year-old from Bologna crossed the finish line first, ahead of Victor Martins and Richard Verschoor, demonstrating not only speed and super aggressive overtaking, but also great skill and maturity in tire management and strategy. A true competitive force that, after a not-so-simple adjustment to the category – until last year Antonelli raced in Formula Regional in cars with 270 horsepower (less than half of the current 620 of F2) – shows that he can play a leading role in the second half of the season, following up on his splendid victory on the wet in the Silverstone Sprint Race.

SAFETY CAR DECISIVE

Starting from the seventh grid position on hard tires, Kimi immediately tried to differentiate his strategy from most of the leading drivers, who started on softs. Despite being on theoretically less performing tires, in the early laps, he managed to keep pace with the leaders, pulling off a cinematic overtaking against Maloney, the only top rival on hard tires, in the twisting curves of the middle sector. Just a few seconds later, the first incident that could have condemned the Italian from team Prema: the Safety Car coming out after the incident between poleman Aron and Maloney seemed to benefit the drivers on softer tires who pitted, taking advantage of the race neutralization. Finding himself in the lead due to the pit stops, Antonelli did not give up and, rather, continued to push at the restart, posting a series of fast laps to build up a margin over his pursuers.

THE TURNING POINT

On the 22nd lap, the second incident that affected the race, this time in Kimi’s favor: Amaury Cordeel’s crash in turn 4 forced the marshals to deploy the Safety Car for the second time, this time benefiting all those drivers who (like Antonelli) had started on hard Pirellis and still needed to pit for mandatory tire change. Returning to the track in fifth place, but on fresh softs and with few laps to go, the climb to first place was relentless, with a rapid succession of overtakes against Hauger, Fittipaldi, Bortoleto, and Martins, all on now worn hard tires. A supremacy that was confirmed also by the final order of arrival: Kimi finished first, with a 12.5-second advantage over the first of his pursuers, which suggests that the Italian could have fought for victory even without the help of the second Safety Car.

IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP

With the 26 points collected today (25 for the victory plus the extra for the fastest lap), Antonelli moves up in the overall standings: now the 17-year-old Mercedes driver is sixth in the standings and takes advantage of the “zero” from leader Hadjar, as well as from high-ranking rivals Aron, Maloney, and Colapinto, to aim for a strong finish to the season. Of course, the Franco-Algerian leader is still 55 points ahead (140 against Antonelli’s 85), but every weekend awards 39 points, and with five double races – Spa, Monza, Baku, Lusail, and Yas Marina – scheduled, along with a very fluctuating performance from all championship contenders, the impression is that the championship is far from decided. Toto Wolff can rub his hands…

final classification

Here’s the final order (top-10) of the Formula 2 Feature Race in Budapest:

  1. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Prema) 1:02:46.691
  2. Victor Martins (ART) +12.528
  3. Richard Verschoor (Trident) +13.355
  4. Gabriel Bortoleto (Invicta) +14.819
  5. Enzo Fittipaldi (Van Amersfoort) +18.516
  6. Dennis Hauger (MP) +19.179
  7. Kush Maini (Invicta) +20.270
  8. Ritomo Miyata (Rodin) +20.498
  9. Taylor Barnard (AIX) +21.193
  10. Rafael Villagomez (Van Amersfoort) +23.310

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