A Formula 1 driver had an accident with a luxury car in San Marino

The young Mercedes driver, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, was involved in a traffic accident in San Marino a few days before traveling to Bahrain for the official Formula 1 tests. The incident did not cause any physical consequences for the Italian and only involved the vehicle in which he was traveling, according to the official statement released by the German team.

"Last Saturday night, near his home in San Marino, Kimi was involved in a traffic accident. The police arrived at the scene after receiving a call from Kimi. His car was the only one involved and, although the vehicle sustained damage, Kimi emerged completely uninjured", the German team reported about what happened.

The accident occurred on a highway near the Castle of Serravalle. According to the police reconstruction released by the local outlet San Marino TV, the sequence of the accident extended over approximately 144 meters (472 feet), which suggests that the car was traveling at a considerable speed. The car first crashed into a traffic pole, then into the guardrail twice and finally into a retaining wall on the opposite side of the road.

The vehicle involved was a Mercedes AMG GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+ Motorsport Collectors Edition, an exclusive model of which there are only 200 units worldwide and whose value exceeds 200 thousand euros. A few days earlier, Mercedes had publicly announced the delivery of this car to Antonelli, equipped with a 612-horsepower twin-turbo V8 engine and a special configuration linked to the brand's motorsport program.

The authorities in San Marino are continuing to investigate the causes that led to the loss of control of the car. Although the alert was issued by Antonelli himself, it has still not been officially confirmed who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Despite the media impact of the incident, the young driver is keeping his sporting schedule unchanged in his preseason with the Mercedes W17. Antonelli is scheduled to take part this week in testing in Bahrain, before the start of the championship, which will run from March 6 to 8 with the Australian Grand Prix.