Antonelli involved in San Marino road accident as Mercedes issue statement

The Italian driver crashed in Serravalle, hitting a guardrail before stepping out of the car unscathed and calling the police.

The accident reportedly came just five days before the start of testing in Bahrain, where Antonelli will share driving duties in the W17 with teammate George Russell, following the initial shakedown held in late January in Barcelona.

“We can confirm that Kimi was involved in a traffic accident on Saturday night close to his home in San Marino,” Mercedes confirmed in a statement issued to GPblog.

Antonelli was driving a Mercedes-AMG GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+ Motorsport Collection, a limited-run model with just 200 examples produced.

The car is powered by a hand-built 4.0-litre twin-turbo AMG V8 petrol engine producing 450 kW (612 hp) — 27 hp more than the standard GT 63 — allowing it to sprint from 0 to 200 km/h in 10.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 317 km/h.

Mercedes has confirmed that Antonelli is already in Bahrain and ready to take part in the second pre-season testing session.

Russell has outlined what he expects from his teammate as the young Italian heads into his second season with Mercedes, following a rookie campaign marked by ups and downs but capped by encouraging progress in the closing stages of the year.

Speaking to GPblog among other media, the Briton expressed strong confidence in Antonelli, hailing him as one of the most exciting talents to watch in the future of Formula 1.