The Mercedes driver showed up incognito at the Daytona track in Milton Keynes and competed, setting the fastest time on the wet track.

The managers of the Daytona track in Milton Keynes, near Red Bull’s headquarters, are used to big names. Drivers such as Sergio Perez, Isack Hadjar, and stars of the caliber of Tom Cruise have raced on their go-karts. And on Saturday, when a young man with curly hair covered by a large hat and his face hidden by sunglasses showed up on a rainy afternoon, they didn’t suspect a thing. “Are there any races with a free spot?” asked the stranger. “Yes, but first you have to attend the briefing with the other drivers… to go over the rules and flags.”

The guy, however, is anything but a stranger. Hidden under a white hoodie is Kimi Antonelli, who has no desire to stay away from the wheel. But the track managers don’t know this, so the question is a must: “We need a name… you know, if you’re lucky, you could end up in this ranking here,” they explain, pointing to the scoreboard showing the times of several of his colleagues from Bologna. “Shovlin… my name is Henry Shovlin,” he replies. The fact that he shares his name with Mercedes’ technical director must not have raised too much suspicion, so Kimi is accompanied to the room where the other drivers are attending the briefing before taking to the track. “He sat in a corner,” they say on the British track’s social media, “and listened carefully to the whole explanation.”

HELMET OFF—   It’s time to hit the track. No Mercedes suit, no F1 helmet. Kimi doesn’t want the other drivers to know that there is a Formula One driver among them. So he settles into the rental kart and waits for the lights to go out. It’s pouring rain, and he wins by a landslide. Behind him, there is nothing. Once the race is over, everyone rushes to the tent to shelter from the incessant rain, and a question spreads among the drivers: “Who is that guy who was three seconds faster than everyone else?” And from an anonymous white helmet emerges Kimi Antonelli. Taking off his mask, the Bolognese driver poses for a photo with everyone and then stands in front of the famous board showing the fastest times: his name is there, of course, and his time is the fastest on a wet track, 1’24”500. Alex Albon, in the rain, was five seconds slower…