F1 Star Kimi Antonelli Reverses Mercedes-AMG GT Into A Wall Before US GP

George Russell films the low-speed bump in the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe, then delivers a perfectly timed line about being in drive.

Kimi Antonelli AMG GT Coupe collision

Photo by: Mercedes-AMG

Brian Potter

By: Brian Potter

Oct 26, at 7:01am ET

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Kimi Antonelli has been almost flawless on track this season. Away from the racing line, during a promotional shoot before the United States Grand Prix, he had a classic rookie-style mix-up: a little too much accelerator while the car was still in reverse.

The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe stopped a few feet short of disaster. A wooden fence behind the parking area at the Circuit of the Americas was not so lucky, and teammate George Russell was right there to witness the whole thing.

Reversed Into The Wall

Antonelli was positioning his personalized Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe next to Russell's car ahead of a planned burnout for the cameras. The car was still in reverse when he pressed the accelerator, and it rolled backward into a wooden fence behind the space.

The clip shows the moment of impact from inside the cabin. Antonelli looks genuinely surprised, glancing back at the fence as if he is not quite sure what just happened to his car.

The GT Coupe that got the Mercedes F1 drivers treatment that week packs 1,153 hp and 1,475 lb-ft of torque, enough to hit 60 mph in two seconds flat. However, none of that output was moving in the right direction when it met the fence. Damage to both the car and the fence looked minor, which is a relief given the car's output.

George Russell's Perfect Comment

Russell did not miss the opportunity. As Antonelli sat there with the fence behind him, his teammate delivered the line that made the video worth sharing:

'you need to select drive to move forward!'

The joke works precisely because it is true. Antonelli had the car in reverse the whole time, pressing the pedal expecting forward motion instead of backward motion, a mix-up that would embarrass anyone behind the wheel of a car this powerful.

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Antonelli took it in stride. He quickly selected drive, pulled away from the fence, and carried on with the planned burnout, leaving tire smoke in the air as if the whole thing had gone according to script.

The incident did not slow him down that weekend. Antonelli went on to dominate the United States Grand Prix from pole, putting himself two points away from the F1 title with one race left on the calendar.