Mercedes 'not super happy' with Kimi Antonelli Imola act - 'Shouldn't do that'
Sky Sports F1 pundit Jacques Villeneuve revealed what he knew about Mercedes' stance on what young driver Kimi Antonelli arranged for his first home race at Imola
Mercedes are said to be "not super happy" with Kimi Antonelli over his arrangement to bring school friends to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The teenager is revelling in his first experience of a home race in Formula 1 at the Imola track which he knows so well.
Antonelli was born and raised in Bologna, the Italian city which is just 20 miles north-west of the world-famous race track. And he gets to race there for Mercedes in only his seventh Grand Prix as an F1 driver, at the age of 18.
To mark the occasion, not only are Antonelli's family present but also he invited some of his school friends to visit the paddock over the course of the race weekend. "Yeah, I organised this," said the teenager.
"Thanks also to some people at Mercedes. Rosa [Herrera Venegas, part of the Mercedes PR team], who's in the room as well, helped. We were able to organise this for the school. I think it's a good way for them to see with their own eyes this world.
"They used to watch the races on TV, but didn't actually know what's going on behind it. I think it's a really good experience and I really hope they enjoy it.
"We've organised some activities – later on I'll show them the car and explain a bit, without going too much into detail. It's a good way to keep the relationship because I don't spend much time at home, so I don't see them often. These little things can make the difference."
While clearly Antonelli got the approval from some people in Mercedes, given he was assisted by Herrero Venegas on the organisation front, not everyone within the team is said to be thrilled. And that includes Gwen Lagrue, who is responsible for the development of Mercedes-backed drivers.
According to Jacques Villeneuve, speaking as a pundit for Sky Sports F1, the Frenchman is not pleased about what he worried might be a distraction for the youngster. "It's cute, he brought his friends, but it's his office. You shouldn't do that," said 1997 F1 champion Villeneuve.
"I've heard some interviews with Gwen Lagrue, who's been working with him at Mercedes and he was not super happy about this subject because it took away from his focus on the racing. It's the same thing when you have your whole family around, your friends. No, this is your office.
"You need to focus on your racing and it had an effect on him yesterday. Seems better today, but it did have an effect. Just remind yourself, it's your office. You don't bring friends or family to your office."
He might have had a point given Antonelli's uninspiring performances on Friday and Saturday. He was quite far off the pace of team-mate George Russell in practice and qualified only 13th for the race, while the Brit was able to put the other Mercedes on the second row of the grid in third.
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