George Russell’s brilliant radio messages show exactly what Kimi Antonelli is still lacking at Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli has had an impressive start to life in Formula 1 with Mercedes. However, he still has a way to go to catch teammate George Russell.

The 18-year-old rookie sits seventh in the standings with 48 points heading into the Monaco Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Russell has been taking the fight to Max Verstappen and the McLarens in 2025, scoring four podiums.

Antonelli has shown his potential in 2025 as he became the youngest F1 pole sitter in any format at the Miami GP for the Sprint. However, he was brought back down to earth at the Emilia Romagna GP with the first retirement of his career.

Antonelli was knocked out in Q2 at his first home race alongside both Ferraris. The Mercedes driver struggled to make up ground in the race before a throttle issue forced him to retire on lap 44.

Antonelli’s ‘flawless’ image ‘suffered’ at Imola as he lacked pace all weekend. The Italian has bags of potential to develop into a top talent, but it is clear Russell has the upper hand.

George Russell is a ‘very complete’ driver with his messages to his engineers over the radio – Kimi Antonelli must take notes

The Brit is flourishing as Mercedes’ lead driver in 2025. Since Lewis Hamilton moved to Ferrari, Russell is brimming with confidence as he looks to guide the Silver Arrows back to the front.

Former F1 driver and Mercedes ambassador Esteban Gutierrez says Russell is a ‘very complete’ driver. The Mexican lauded his work with the engineers and his involvement in strategy over the radio, something that Antonelli will have to learn if he wants to become the lead driver.

“Well, I think we can all recognise that George has had three or four teammates and he’s been quicker than all of them,” said Gutierrez via F1 Nation

“Even against Lewis, which probably wasn’t expected. He did manage to be quicker than Lewis on many, many occasions. Now with Kimi being such a great talent, it’s obviously his first season.

“He is very charismatic, he’s a great personality inside the team. I think Kimi will develop into a much complete and better driver with the spark, with a lot of talent, with no compromises.

“He’s really the kind of driver who gives a lot of excitement. But George is consistent, is strong. It’s very thoughtful on his decisions, great to communicate on the radio with the engineers and the strategy.

“And he’s involved in all of those details and it’s what makes him a very complete driver.”

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What Toto Wolff told Kimi Antonelli what he needs to do to become Mercedes’ top driver

Russell’s experience will be invaluable to Antonelli at Mercedes. The Italian has a great teammate to learn from and help develop him into the talent many people believe he will be.

But it is clear that a lot of work needs to be done. Toto Wolff has urged Antonelli to learn the Pirelli tyres if he wants to ‘call the shots’ at Mercedes over Russell.

Imola will be a huge learning curve for the Italian as Antonelli did not listen to Wolff’s ‘pep talk’ about focusing on the sessions. Antonelli ‘hurt’ his weekend by focusing too much on the occasion, rather than the race itself.

Jacques Villeneuve noted Mercedes weren’t happy with Antonelli as he brought his school friends to the Imola circuit, giving him another distraction. The 18-year-old will need to be fully focused if he wants to get back on track.