Ciao tutti!
Wow, so much has happened in the past two months since I was announced as a full-time Formula 1 driver with Mercedes for 2025, I’m not sure where the time has gone.
I’ve been really busy, and have barely had time to stop and reflect on everything that has happened. Now I have the chance, I wanted to share with you all how my journey is progressing.
Monza was emotional. It was one of my two home races, and there was so much hype around the whole weekend, and I guess you could say I learned a lesson the hard way with what happened in FP1!
I enjoyed the couple of laps I did, especially in front of the home crowd. It is a memory I will have for a long time. Mentally it will help me to come back stronger, too.
The team helped me so much. They taught me how to face that moment and get through it without worrying too much.
When I did my second session in Mexico last month, I had more time to prepare, because it was not an F2 weekend. It was a much cleaner session and was definitely what was needed after Monza. I didn’t want to take any risks, and I learned a lot.
That’s what the past few weeks have been about: Learning. You will have seen me in the F1 paddock a lot more, as I get used to being trackside, building my relationship with team members and experience how weekends will work next year. The team and I just want to make sure I don’t have any surprises!
They [George and Lewis] are both amazing. It’s been great to work with them both.
Kimi
And who better to learn off than drivers like Lewis and George.
Building a relationship with George will be important for next year, and seeing how Lewis works with the team has been super cool to watch because he has so much experience. He really helps you understand the way he works.
I don’t want to bother them during a weekend, but sometimes I ask for advice or ask for why they made a certain decision. They are both amazing. It’s been great to work with them both.
Then there’s Bono. I’ve been working with him and learning from him to be ready for 2025. I’m also building my relationship further with both car crews.
We can only deliver the best if we have a relationship that goes both ways, on both sides of the garage.
I’ve been able to get behind the wheel for the team at some TPCs as well, which is really good because there is a big break in the F2 season before the final two races, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
There have been lots of visits to Brackley as well, working in the simulator and data simulation. I did my first talk in front of all the team members at Brackley and Brixworth as well, which was really nice – everybody was so welcoming and friendly!
Some of the circuits will be completely new to me next year, so I’ve been learning those and getting used to all the procedures on the steering wheel as well.
That’s all for now. I still have an F2 season to finish and want to do that in style, but honestly, I am just counting down the days until I start in F1.
I am ready to rock.
Talk soon, Kimi.