"THE MICHAEL??": Kimi Antonelli's shocked reaction on finding out Michael Schumacher gifted Jack Doohan his first go-kart

Kimi Antonelli is one of many rookies making their debut on the F1 grid alongside Jack Doohan. In a recent video by F1, the Italian teenager was stunned after knowing that the Alpine driver was gifted his first go-kart by seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.

The 22-year-old is the son of motorcycle legend Mick Doohan. Doohan's father had a strong friendship with Michael Schumacher and used to spend time with each other.

With the two having a close relationship, Jack and his sister, Allexis Doohan, were gifted their first go-karts by the German world champion. When this instance was revealed to the rookie squad in F1's recent 2025 rookie roundtable video, Kimi Antonelli was shocked and replied (0:18 onwards):

"The Michael [Schumacher]?"

Arguably, the 18-year-old will have the greatest chance of capitalizing on the upcoming season as he will have the strongest machinery amongst all rookies.

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Kimi Antonelli lists out his targets for the 2025 F1 season

Kimi Antonelli at the F1 Grand Prix Of Australia - Previews - Source: Getty

While Antonelli's Mercedes debut season will lay down a lot of responsibilities on him, the Italian will look to prove his skills behind the wheel. Antonelli skipped the F3 championship altogether, and despite his mediocre result in the F2 series last year, he has earned the call-up to the Brackley-based squad.

Moreover, the Mercedes protege has spent the past year getting mileage in F1 cars and will be ecstatic to start his new journey. With the Australian Grand Prix weekend setting off with the media day on Thursday, Antonelli was asked about his expectations from his upcoming campaign (via Formula 1):

"It’s hard to say. I don’t really know what to expect, because it’s my first Grand Prix, so I don’t want to set anything too high. I just want to do a clean weekend, with a nice rhythm, in order to be able to build up from that point. I know the track, so I don’t have to learn it. You understand the track, where you can overtake, where you can defend the best, so definitely [racing here in] F2 was a good help last year.”

With Lewis Hamilton's departure from the team, Antonelli has huge boots to fill. The 40-year-old won six world championships and 84 race victories with the German giant.

Meanwhile, this would also lay down the responsibility of leading the team on the shoulders of George Russell. Like Antonelli, Russell was also part of the Mercedes junior driver academy but had to spend three years at Williams to gain the trust of Wolff & Co. that he was ready for the promotion.

Thus, the German powerhouse will have an interesting intra-team dynamic going over throughout the 2025 season.