KIMI MEETS KIMI

Sakhir, Bahrain (AFP) — Mercedes’ Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli spoke on Thursday about his encounter with the man whose name he shares — Kimi Raikkonen.

Antonelli’s first name is Andrea, after his uncle, and his parents, when searching for a middle name, came up with the first name of Ferrari’s 2007 world champion.

The 18-year-old from Bologna is universally known as Kimi, and recalled meeting the now retired Finn.

“I met him when I was quite little, maybe 2018?” said Antonelli, who has made a bright start to life at Mercedes in the car vacated by Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton.

“The first time I met him, I understood why they called him the ‘Iceman’ — I was super excited and he had no reaction!” the rookie recalled ahead of Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

“I didn’t have the chance for a proper chat with him, but I would like to.”

“It would be cool to ask him about racing, as he has done a lot in the sport. Definitely one for the future!” added the Italian.

While Raikkonen stands third on the all-time list of Grand Prix starts with 349, Antonelli goes into just his fourth race in a remarkable fifth place with 30 points — double the tally of the seven-time world champion he replaced at the Silver Arrows.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s race under floodlights, he said: “The speed is there. Keep positive trend, keep working hard and then we’ll see what the results are on Sunday.”

The rookie, who only passed his driving test in January, entered F1’s record books last weekend when he became the youngest driver to lead a race, breaking a record held by Max Verstappen from back in 2016, in Japan.

He also became the youngest driver to claim a fastest lap.

Yet to finish outside the top 10, he is leading the way for the six full-time rookies on the 2025 grid. The only cloud on his horizon is revising for school exams, which his mother insists he has to finish.

George Russell, who has seamlessly stepped into the role as team leader at Mercedes on the departure of Hamilton, has also enjoyed a buoyant beginning to 2025 and is fourth in the drivers’ standings, 17 points behind McLaren’s leader Lando Norris.