Kimi Antonelli has finally begun life as a Mercedes F1 driver after months of waiting and testing behind the scenes.
Toto Wolff trusted the young Italian to drive their second car next to George Russell in 2025. Antonelli will replace seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton after his exit to Ferrari.
But Antonelli is not thinking about Hamilton in his rookie season, seeing himself as the next Mercedes driver rather than the Brit’s replacement.
The 18-year-old has incredible hype around him heading into his rookie season. Antonelli has already completed thousands of miles in private tests with the Silver Arrows in preparation for 2025.
Mercedes’ 2025 challenger – the W16 – got its first outing in a filming day in Bahrain ahead of pre-season testing at the Sakhir International Circuit.
Antonelli is excited to drive the W16 this season as he gears up for his debut season in the pinnacle of motorsport.
Jolyon Palmer worried by Kimi Antonelli ‘routinely’ struggling with the brakes in Bahrain testing
The Italian set the fastest time in the morning session on day one – although lap times at this stage mean very little.
Alex Brundle noted Antonelli had ‘confidence’ with the 2025 Mercedes during the session, particularly through turn 10 as he rode the bumpy nature of the corner into the braking zone.
But speaking on Sky Sports during the afternoon session on day two, Jolyon Palmer noticed Antonelli was ‘quite routinely’ struggling with the brakes. He overshot turn four and ran deep onto the infield when the former F1 driver noted the problem.
“Antonelli on the C4 tyre, running on the softest of what Mercedes have brought here, trying to get a look at a performance run but not able to get it stopped for turn four.
“We’re seeing quite routinely now Antonelli struggling on the brakes. We’ve seen a lot of lock-ups.
“I think he’s just carrying so much speed in, the car also has a little bit of a hover over that curb on the entry. It didn’t look like it wanted to come off that curb particularly well there.
“No big smoky lock-up, he didn’t had the brake pressure that would potentially flat-spot the tyres but he was just nowhere near getting that car stopped.”
What Mercedes’ rivals are expecting Kimi Antonelli to do in 2025
Antonelli is one of two new full-time drivers on the grid – alongside Liam Lawson at Red Bull – who could be fighting for race wins in 2025.
If the Italian does take victory in the first three races, Antonelli will become F1’s youngest winner – beating Max Verstappen’s record set at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.
READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats
Wolff is playing down expectations for Antonelli at the first race in Australia, but the 18-year-old will be keen to show his talent and prove why his seat at Mercedes is justified.
Christian Horner and Zak Brown expect Antonelli to win in 2025 as they anticipate the most competitive F1 season in history.
It may be a step too far for Antonelli to claim a victory in his debut year, but the 18-year-old could set the foundations to be a serious challenger in the future.
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