EXCLUSIVE: ‘No one can ever replace Lewis’ – Andrea Kimi Antonelli on stepping into Hamilton’s shoes and his rapid rise to F1 stardom

That kind of progress draws attention, in the way Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen did when they whizzed through the single-seater ladder. Verstappen did just 47 races, Raikkonen 23.

Antonelli, has a fair bit more – but his step up from FRECA to F2 and now F1 is still a remarkable achievement. However, Antonelli admits he did feel a little pressure, so quick did his star rise.

“Already with the jump into F2, there was straight away a lot more talking [about me],” he said. “And then with these rumours [of a step up to F1 next year], the talking increased quite a bit.

“I’m not going to lie, I could feel a little bit the pressure building up. After the first win in F2, I was able to release all this pressure.

“Also I didn’t mind the talking any more, I was just trying to focus as much as possible on F2. Finally the announcement arrived and all these rumours have gone and it’s a nice feeling.”

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Kimi will be the real deal’ – Wolff on Antonelli’s signing, Russell’s senior role and his Hamilton relationship

That Antonelli seems unfazed by the ever-increasing interest in him is mindboggling. Our chat happens less than 24 hours after he crashed on his FP1 debut on what was only his second push lap. But you wouldn’t know it.

Brilliantly, he has reviewed it, learned from it and now compartmentalised it. He has no regrets and his belief in his ability remains rock solid.

When I put it to him that he doesn’t seem to get fazed by any of it, he replied: “If you would ask me this question a few years ago, I maybe wouldn’t say the same but this year, I’ve been developing a lot as a person and I’ve done a lot of training with Mercedes,” he said.