New Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli is already being closely analysed before he’s even made his Formula 1 debut.
It’s a very rare event when a teenager is handed a permanent race seat on the F1 grid but that’s exactly the decision Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff made when Lewis Hamilton announced he would be racing for Ferrari in 2025.
Hamilton gave Mercedes plenty of notice about his departure, meaning the team could start working with Kimi Antonelli behind the scenes to assess whether he was the right option to step up in place of the seven-time world champion.
Antonelli drove thousands of miles behind the scenes in private tests alongside his Formula 2 campaign to prove to Wolff and other senior Mercedes figures that he was ready.
Mercedes were linked with Carlos Sainz as a potential alternative, but the team have put his full faith in the 18-year-old, even if Wolff is tempering expectations around Antonelli’s F1 debut in Australia.
Karun Chandhok was speaking to Sky Sports F1 ahead of the Italian’s debut campaign with the Silver Arrows.
He admitted he’s heard some incredible stories from people who know Antonelli’s career, but has warned him not to fall into the same trap as McLaren star Oscar Piastri.
Karun Chandhok analyses Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli ahead of his F1 debut
Previewing Antonelli’s first season in Formula 1, Chandhok said: “I think Antonelli comes into the season as the rookie with the most eyes on him.
“He’s in a top seat, he’s taken over a seat vacated by Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes have chosen to not have Carlos Sainz and promote him up after one season of F2, so it’s a big, big task for him.
“He’s very, very talented, there’s no doubt about it, in terms of pure natural talent. I’ve seen him in junior categories, I’ve spoken to people who worked with him, and they all rate him very highly.
READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats
“Being in an F1 environment with the pressure of being in a top team is something different to being in the lower categories when you can kind of go under the radar.
“Now he’s going to have people like me in the commentary box analysing every lap he does, and suddenly the pressure to deliver is much higher.
“I think he’s going to be very, very quick in qualifying, but as Oscar Piastri has shown us recently, the bigger challenge these days for rookies is perhaps in the races with the long runs.
“Mercedes have done a great deal of work to prepare him, he’s going to be the best-prepared rookie coming into F1 for a very long time, so he’s got a great opportunity to shine.”
Mercedes would be delighted if Kimi Antonelli had Oscar Piastri-style debut F1 season
The past few seasons before 2025 saw very few rookies arrive on the grid, but Piastri has made by far the biggest impact.
He finished ninth in the drivers’ championship during his debut season in 2023, but it has to be taken into account that McLaren were bottom of the standings at the beginning of the year due to the underperformance of their car.
However, Piastri managed to win the Sprint Race in Qatar and was on the podium in back-to-back races in Japan and Sunday’s Grand Prix in Lusail.
READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend
Piastri won races in Hungary and Azerbaijan last year and at times was on the same level as teammate Lando Norris, although he was still slightly too inconsistent.
As Chandhok says, the Australian now needs to work on his race pace and Nico Rosberg was concerned with Piastri’s tyre management at the beginning of 2024.
Interestingly, Piastri has been told he needs to work on his qualifying performances this year, rather than his long-run pace as Chandhok suggests.
It’s still very important information for Antonelli to take on board before the five red lights go out in Melbourne next month.
Leave feedback about this