Mercedes Issues Response To "Shootout" Silverstone Test Speculations

Saturday, 01 June 2024 at 18:00

Mercedes issued an official response to rumors surrounding their recent testing session at Silverstone Circuit that featured George Russell, Mick Schumacher, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Mercedes is putting Andrea Kimi Antonelli through an intense preparation program ahead of the 2025 season as he seems to be the number one candidate for the seat alongside George Russell.

Private testing sessions are a big part of the preparations, and the most recent one took place at the track featured in the F1 calendar (which we are yet to see this year): Silverstone Circuit.

Although this testing session would offer the team some kind of comparison between all three drivers, Mercedes asserted it was incorrectly labeled as a "shootout" by some media outlets.

"Our most recent TPC test in Silverstone included Mick, Kimi, and George. It was incorrectly labelled a "shootout", which was neither the intention nor the findings of the running."

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Italian newspaper Corriere Dello Sport suggested Kimi Antonelli beat the current 26-year-old Mercedes driver both in qualifying and long-run simulations.

However, tire compounds, fuel loads, engine modes, track conditions, and weather conditions are unknown and would probably differ for every driver. Mercedes's statement continued:

"It's important to understand that each driver completed different programmes, on different days, in different track and weather conditions."

"Unfortunately, unverified speculation has led to conclusions and comparisons being published that do not reflect what happened."

Corriere Dello Sport also noted that this test convinced Mercedes Antonelli is ready for the seat in the 2025 season, and the German team is now supposedly more or less decided.

The statement from Mercedes also added that the team was happy with the performance of Antonelli and Schumacher (reserve driver), both of whom performed to the utmost satisfaction of their team.

"Both Mick and Kimi have done an excellent job delivering their respective programmes, to the complete satisfaction of the team."