Andrea Kimi Antonelli: 'I'm still learning'

Do you have a hobby? Yes, I recently started driving radio-controlled toy cars, the 1:8 scale motor one: beautiful and very difficult. And I also see it as mental training because it helps me to stay focused and not get distracted for a moment.

A sinistra, il Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Oceana, uno dei modelli di Iwc preferiti dal pilota italiano. Ha la cassa di 41 mm in ceramica blu, il movimento automatico con cronografo di manifattura e il cinturino in caucciù con inserto in tessuto. Costa 13 mila euro. A destra, il Pilot’s Watch Mark XX Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team è il terzo orologio nato dalla collaborazione tra Iwc e la scuderia automobilistica. Ha la cassa in titanio di 40 mm di diametro, il movimento automatico di manifattura e il cinturino in caucciù. Costa 6.700 euro. 

Turning back to your profession, nowadays a Formula 1 driver can't just be fast, he has to be thoroughly familiar with many technical aspects. You are very young, how have you prepared yourself for this aspect too? I am still learning... In Formula 1 every detail makes a difference: you only have to look at the amount of buttons on the steering wheel to realise that. Before the season started, they sent me a brochure of about 30 pages explaining the various functions and the procedures to be followed. I studied it to perfection because it is already very complicated in itself but when you race it is more so. Every change has to be made immediately, also because sometimes you are asked by the team because there may be an error in the stain system and you, even through their instructions, have to delete it. This is just one example of what I had to learn. Then there are the aerodynamics, the tyres....

Maybe you could major in engineering, since you took your baccalaureate exam last summer... Well, I don't know about that... But for a pilot it's still nice to understand a bit of mechanics. Maybe it doesn't bring you a plus in terms of driving, but knowing it can also help guide the team on which direction to take the development of the car.

How would you define yourself as a driver? Instinctive, especially when I get into that phase in the race where I am super focused and drive almost automatically. For the future, I'm trying to work a little bit on all aspects, trying to get to know the car as well as I can in order to have the best possible confidence: if you have it, you can push straight away and find the limit much quicker. It's right to always try to improve.

Antonelli celebra il terzo posto, il suo primo podio in Formula 1, al Gran Premio del Canada dello scorso 15 giugno. EPA/SHAWN THEW

Do you have friends among your colleagues in the paddock? You are all more or less the same age.... I have great respect for every rider, of course there are some I get along with better, others less so. In the end I'm there to race for myself, not to make friends.

You have previously stated that your sporting idols include Ayrton Senna and Michael Jordan: a characteristic of theirs that you would like to make your own? From Senna, the level of sensitivity when driving. He was special in understanding how far he could push the car. I have that too, but I'm working on taking it a step further. From Jordan I'd say his competitive nastiness, even with his teammates whom he always tried to push over the limit right from the training sessions, and his mental stability: even if things were going badly, he managed to stay calm and turn the situation around. Then, of course, he was a very strong player.

With your joining the Mercedes AMG-Petronas team, you have also become part of the Iwc family, a watch brand that has been a partner of your team for years. Now that I have come into contact with this reality, I have discovered a world that I am very passionate about. I would love to visit their manufacture as soon as possible, to see what the steps are behind the making of one of their models. Which I bet are difficult and complex...

What is your favourite Iwc watch? Today I wear the Pilot's Watch Mark XX Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, but my absolute favourite is the Pilot's Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Oceana which is in blue, my favourite colour.