Mercedes Boss Mistook Kimi Antonelli for a Lost Kid Before Realizing He Was F1’s Next Star

When James Allison first met Kimi Antonelli, he didn’t think he was shaking hands with Mercedes’ next F1 hope — he thought the kid was lost.

The unexpected moment was revealed in The Seat, Netflix’s F1 documentary. In a candid segment, Allison — Mercedes’ highly respected technical director — recalled his first encounter with the teenage sensation.

“You want me to be honest?” Allison says, smiling. “My first encounter with Kimi was — I was just sitting at my desk working, and a child came up to my desk and said hello. I thought they’d lost their dad.”

At just 18 years old, Kimi Antonelli doesn’t exactly have the towering physical presence of a typical F1 driver — yet. But that didn’t last long. “When he shook my hand,” Allison continues, “he had the same strength that all drivers have in their hands. And I thought, ‘This is a driver. It’s Kimi.’”