Andrea Kimi Antonelli will embark on one of the toughest challenges of his career when he makes his Formula 1 debut for Mercedes.
Toto Wolff has drafted in the 18-year-old as the replacement to Lewis Hamilton, although Antonelli does not see himself as filling in the shoes of Hamilton.
Antonelli is held in high regard among key figures within the F1 paddock given his previous success in junior formula championships, with fellow rookie Isack Hadjar also saying Antonelli reminds him of Max Verstappen.
With the hype comes a lot of pressure, however, former F1 team boss Otmar Szafnauer believes Antonelli should copy a trait from Estaban Ocon when speaking on The Race: F1 Team Principal podcast.
Otmar Szafnauer says Kimi Antonelli should copy Esteban Ocon trait
Ocon raced for Force India and Racing Point while Szafnauer was at the team, and the former F1 team boss recalls one of his traits was the reason why he chose him that he thinks Antonelli must adopt.
“With a rookie it’s more about Formula 1 knowledge and the differences between where they have come from in F2 or F3, F1, that jump is massive and the differences are huge and you’ve got to get him acclimated with those differences as soon as possible,” said Szafnauer.
“The best rookies I’ve found are the ones that have no preconceptions over what they will find and are completely open to learning and listen more than they talk. Great skill to have, especially at the beginning.
“We ran a few rookies before Esteban Ocon at Force India, and one of the reasons we chose him was because he listened more than he talked, he adjusted based on the information that was given to him by experienced race engineers, and as a rookie that’s what you need. If you have that ability, you climb up that steepness of the learning curve very quickly. And you can shortcut the process of getting up to speed.”
Kimi Antonelli admits ‘nobody expects’ him to win in first season
Pressure on a rookie is always matched by people wondering when they will take their first race win, especially when they are racing for one of F1’s established race winning teams.
Mercedes has not produced a car capable of regularly winning races since the 2021 season, with the 2024 season being the first time they have won more than one race in a season since then.
READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats
Unlike when Lewis Hamilton made his debut for McLaren, Antonelli does not think there will be an expectation for him to win races in his rookie season.
Martin Brundle fears Mercedes will be a ‘one-horse team’ with George Russell expected to be fighting with McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull for wins.
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