Antonelli brings school to the track for home F1 debut

IMOLA, Italy : Kimi Antonelli has not been able to attend school since he became a Mercedes Formula One driver so the 18-year-old brought his classmates to the racetrack ahead of his home debut this weekend.

The Bologna-born driver is enjoying staying at home for the race at Imola, a drive east along the Roman Via Emilia, but bracing for plenty of attention as Italy's sole driver in Ferrari's backyard.

"We were able to organise this for the school," he said after his entire class turned up in the paddock on Thursday. "I think it’s a good way for them to see with their own eyes this world.

"We’ve organised some activities... 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."

Antonelli still intends to take his Maturita, the Italian high school diploma exam, and has been working on it.

"I'm trying to study as much as I can, especially in those little moments I have free. I'm getting help from the school as well to try and catch up because I’ve definitely missed a lot of work during this time," said the rookie.

"But it’s not easy, because that also takes energy and effort. Especially ahead of such an important weekend, it’s really important to manage that side, not to do too much in order to save energy.

"But whenever I'm home or have a bit of time off, I try to do a little bit just to keep active and catch up as much as possible."

Antonelli, who took the place of seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton when the Briton moved to Ferrari in January, is the top rookie this season after scoring in five of his six races so far.

The Italian, who only passed his driving test in January, is already the