F1 Rookie Kimi Antonelli Can’t Drive His New Mercedes-AMG GT Because He’s 18
Antonelli races a car with 1,000 horsepower for his day job, but a new young driver law in Italy forbids him from driving his company car. The post F1 Rookie Kimi Antonelli Can’t Drive His New Mercedes-AMG GT Because He’s 18 appeared first on The Drive.
Rookie Formula 1 driver Kimi Antonelli is just 18 years old, and he’s already been given the monumental task of replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes-AMG. One of the perks of the job is a company car. But unlike the typical executive sedan, Antonelli’s ride is reportedly a Mercedes-AMG GT 63. Pretty sweet, right? Unfortunately, the teenager’s excitement might be tempered, as he isn’t even allowed to drive it back home in Italy because of a new law that only took effect in December.
Italy now limits all young drivers to cars with 75 kW (about 100 horsepower) per ton or less within the first three years of getting their license. It’s unclear precisely which model Antonelli has been given; Gazzetta Motori claims it’s a GT 63 S with 576 hp, though that version isn’t currently on sale. In any case, the output is well above the limit. On the surface, the law seems sensible, as the vast majority of new drivers lack the experience to handle big power.
But, of course, Antonelli is not part of that majority, and races a vehicle with more than 1,000 hp per ton for his day job.
I don’t know the details of Antonelli’s living arrangements, but he’s in a new country every couple of weeks over the course of a season. He’s still in public school, but given his unique situation, he “attends” it online. Like most F1 teams, Mercedes is headquartered in the U.K., so the team could always keep the GT on hand for him to drive in the country. But when Antonelli returns home to see family or for the holidays, he legally couldn’t drive the sports car even if he wanted to.
Maybe he doesn’t mind that, though. The rookie quenches his thirst for speed more than almost anyone, on a regular basis. This might just be a laugh from his point of view. Still, it seems ridiculous on the surface, and perhaps Antonelli can get a special exemption on the grounds of already being one of the most capable drivers to ever hold an Italian license, despite his young age.
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The post F1 Rookie Kimi Antonelli Can’t Drive His New Mercedes-AMG GT Because He’s 18 appeared first on The Drive.
