The Mercedes youngster kept his eye in on track

The Formula 1 close season is only a week old but it has been too long for teenager Kimi Antonelli who took to the track in Milton Keynes this weekend to scratch his racing itch.

The Mercedes F1 star completed his rookie season by finishing seventh in the driver’s championship standings, picking up a memorable sprint pole in Miami while claiming three fine podium finishes en route to Merc’s second place in the constructor’s championship.

Last weekend, he was a disappointing 15th place at the season finale in Abu Dhabi as Lando Norris won his first world championship ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.

But on Saturday, he was putting down the visor in Rooksley as he snuck into Daytona Go-Karting to compete against some local drivers.

Driving under the alias as Henry Shovlin, Antonelli kept a low profile during the pre-race safety briefing but his true racing skills quickly became evident as he proved a cut above the rest.

In wet and cold conditions in the new city, the Italian set time three seconds a lap faster than those around him, while also beating a long-standing record set by fellow F1 ace Alex Albon by five seconds.

His time though is around ten seconds slower than former Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda, and Isack Hadjar who will take over at the Milton Keynes team alongside Verstappen for 2026.