Antonelli poses as "Peter Bonnington Jr" in latest Mercedes prank

The Italian driver and current championship leader has also become well known away from the track for his pranks, particularly those aimed at his race engineer, Bono, with the pair's light-hearted exchanges becoming a regular feature across Mercedes' social media channels in recent months.

This time, however, Antonelli took things to another level by sneaking into a meeting under the alias "Peter Bonnington Jr", leaving everyone in the room stunned. The Italian went to great lengths to disguise himself before introducing himself as a "light engineer", a job title that only added to the confusion among those in attendance.

Antonelli was then taken on a tour of the factory, with a few people beginning to suspect it was actually him. Despite the growing suspicion, he managed to keep his cover intact until the very end. At the end of the video, Antonelli joked that while he had fun, it was probably best for him to stick to driving.

The Italian driver is coming off his second retirement in the last three races, a run of results that has significantly reduced his championship advantage over both his teammate and Lewis Hamilton.

Writing in his column for Sky Sports, Brundle described Antonelli's retirement at Silverstone as a painful experience but also an important learning opportunity. He felt the Mercedes driver did not provide the team with sufficiently clear information about his car's issues while making his way back to the pits, leading the mechanics to replace only the nose, front wing and tyres before sending him back out.

According to Brundle, the underlying problem remained unresolved, with damaged bodywork continuing to obstruct the steering and forcing Antonelli to return to the pits just two laps later. Despite those difficulties, Brundle praised the Italian for continuing to fight. Running in 10th place and in position to score what could have been a valuable point, Antonelli recovered impressive pace before eventually being handed a five-second penalty for repeated track limits violations.

Brundle finally questioned the application of the rule, arguing that track limits penalties should only apply when a driver gains a competitive advantage. In his view, they should not be handed out to drivers who are simply trying to manage a mechanical problem or move out of the way of other cars.