Kimi Antonelli has passed his driving test, just weeks before his F1 debut

Kimi Antonelli – the 18-year-old hot shot who was announced as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes back in August – has just passed his driving test, a mere four weeks before he rocks up in Bahrain for pre-season F1 testing. Boggles the mind, doesn’t it?

We know, we know… quirk of the rulebook and all that. But still, isn’t it funny that you need a string of top single-seater results to get an F1 super licence but no one thinks to check your ability to mirror-signal-manoeuvre?

No need to worry in Antonelli’s case though: he appears to have passed his test in his native Italy in none other than a Mk8 Golf, as evidenced by this classic post-test thumbs up snap.

Probably wise of Mercedes not to lend him an AMG GT for the occasion, although TG can highly recommend a Lamborghini Revuelto for that final L-plate outing…

At least Kimi has got it out of the way before the start of the season: remember Max Verstappen was the wrong side of his F1 debut to the tune of 14 entire grands prix before he passed his test on his 18th birthday. Feels like a long time ago, huh

Three days of testing in Bahrain begins on 26 February, and the first race gets underway in Australia on 16 March. And better yet, Antonelli won’t need a lift from the airport…