Last season’s driver’s market has seen all but two teams bring in at least one new driver for the 2025 Formula 1 season.
The 2025 grid is going to look very different to last year when the campaign began without a single driver change for the first time in the sport’s history.
Logan Sargeant, Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon all moved on from their respective teams before the final race in Abu Dhabi, but that pales in comparison to the shake-up awaiting fans at next month’s Australia Grand Prix.
Some teams opted for experience, while others have gone with youth as six rookies – if you include Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman – preparing for their first full seasons on the grid.
However, there is always an element of risk when it comes to making such a big change.
While Ferrari poached Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes in what looks like one of the safer bets out of any of the driver signings, the Silver Arrows decided to replace him with an 18-year-old debutant.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli has shone in nearly every junior category he’s raced in, and Mercedes have been impressed with Antonelli in private testing.
However, Christian Danner, speaking to Motorsport-Magazin’s YouTube channel, believes that team principal Toto Wolff has prepared a contingency plan in case the teenager is overwhelmed by his rapid ascent to the F1 grid.
Mercedes have prepared Kimi Antonelli ‘Plan B’ by signing Valtteri Bottas
With so much change on the grid compared to last season, several drivers suddenly became available who might have expected to have a race seat.
Zhou Guanyu has joined Ferrari, while Franco Colapinto is waiting in the wings at Alpine in case Jack Doohan doesn’t perform at the required level.
Valtteri Bottas has also returned to Mercedes after being dropped by Sauber and talking about his arrival, Danner said: “Antonelli is of course a bit of a surprise package at Mercedes.
“Will he work, everyone says, wow, great things, what an incredible talent and now at the end, he’s racing against George Russell?
READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats
“It could also happen that he’s fast but crashes, he did that often enough not just in Monza when he was there for the first time, but above during the test drives with these TPC cars.
“So, I think they made the choice of the third driver with Bottas quite considerably.
“They definitely have a Plan B if it takes longer with Antonelli, but Antonelli is really fast, so he can do that there, there’s no question.”
Valtteri Bottas preparing to support Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes
Although it’s unlikely that Wolff signed Bottas to put Antonelli under any sort of pressure, his experience could be invaluable to Mercedes.
He’s spent the past three seasons near the back of the grid with Sauber – previously Alfa Romeo – but will at least be able to bring some expertise from the 246 Grand Prix starts he’s accumulated over the years.
Bottas has also contributed 10 of Mercedes’ 129 Formula 1 victories and was a demon in qualifying at times, regularly matching or beating Hamilton when they were teammates.
READ MORE: Valtteri Bottas’ life outside F1 from girlfriend to wine and gin
Bottas has already warned Antonelli what won’t be easy about his start to life in F1 but the Italian appears to have the perfect platform on which to succeed at Mercedes.
Wolff is doing everything he can to initially lower expectations on Antonelli, but if he’s as fast as many within Mercedes believe he is, then he won’t need much protection going forward.
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