Mercedes F1 star given double penalty during off-season

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Imola, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Off the Track

Mercedes star given double penalty during F1 off-season

Kimi Antonelli or Henry Shovlin?

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 20 December 2025 08:53

One F1 driver was hit with a double penalty during a karting race in the off-season, in an event in which he competed under a fake name.

Mercedes teenager Kimi Antonelli took part in a karting event at Milton Keynes' Daytona speedway, taking on the name of 'Henry Shovlin', a clever mix up using the surname of Mercedes' trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.

Antonelli put in the fastest lap of the day by over three seconds, and beat Alex Albon's best time at the track by over five seconds, but multiple penalties stopped him from being able to challenge for the race win.

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The Mercedes youngster - fresh off the back of his new contract with the Brackley-based outfit after a rookie season in which he impressed and helped Mercedes to a second-place championship finish - was enjoying the track in his off-time, and his fellow competitors didn't even know it was him until the end of the race.

Now, Daniel Prince, who works at the Daytona circuit, has revealed why Antonelli was given his two penalties during the karting race.

"He actually got two penalties for pushing too hard so didn't finish on the podium at the end of it," he told the BBC.

"But he did get the fastest lap of the race by at least three seconds. Everyone really mobbed him so a member of staff quickly rescued him and put him behind the desk for a cheeky photo by our celebrity leaderboard, and then he ran away and left."

Who is Henry Shovlin?

Henry Shovlin was the pseudonym used by Antonelli at the Daytona Circuit in Milton Keynes during the F1 off-season, as he went back to his roots to take part in a karting race.

The idea of using a fake name came from Max Verstappen, who during a GT3 test at the Nurburgring Nordschleife in June became Franz Hermann for the day in order to hide his true identity.

Verstappen even stopped photographers from being at the circuit during that test, but Antonelli didn't go that far, stopping for a photo next to the circuit all-time leaderboard.

It remains to be seen whether Antonelli will also take marketing tips from Verstappen, with the four-time F1 champion cashing in on his 'new brand'.

The Dutchman's clothing brand Verstappen.com jumped at the opportunity to create Franz Hermann-inspired merchandise with Verstappen (or was it Hermann?) modelling the new line of t-shirts and sweaters.

The Franz Hermann merchandise was in hot demand, so much so that it sold out in the early hype around Hermann!

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