There are plenty of question marks looming over the viability of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes successor – Kimi Antonelli, and they will all be answered very soon.
The 18-year-old will make his official Formula 1 debut for Mercedes at next month’s Australian Grand Prix. It’s the first time it has hosted the season-opener since 2019.
Antonelli has driven at the track before in Formula 2 with PREMA, so has some knowledge, but the reference points in faster machinery will be completely different.
Team boss Toto Wolff has been vocal in his backing of the young Italian, who has been put through an extensive schedule of testing over the past 12 months. He may be the best-prepared rookie ever.
Antonelli has named the ‘special’ F1 race he wants to win more than Monza and thinks that claiming victory at Imola would be even more remarkable.
Fellow rookie Isack Hadjar says Antonelli reminds him of Max Verstappen already even before seeing what he can do over a race distance.
Kimi Antonelli concedes he cannot ‘repeat’ mistakes in rookie F1 season with Mercedes
Antonelli faces a tough prospect in 2025 lining up alongside George Russell, who performed better than Hamilton in previous seasons.
The Brit could be the man leading their title charge this year, and a positive winter could see them compete for the drivers’ and constructors’ championship.
READ MORE: Juan Pablo Montoya shares the worrying ‘rumours’ he’s heard about Kimi Antonelli’s private Mercedes testing
Antonelli plans to deal with the pressure of being Hamilton’s Mercedes replacement by remaining focused and motivated.
“In terms of speed, I feel ready for Formula 1. But of course, not everything will work perfectly,” he told BILD.de.
“Beginners make mistakes – I just can’t repeat them, I have to learn. The other drivers of the top teams have an advantage. I’m the underdog.”
Toto Wolff may have to speak to Kimi Antonelli over ‘attack’ comments
Antonelli suffered a turbulent rookie Formula 2 season, driving a PREMA car that didn’t perform as it had done in years prior.
That was illustrated by him beating ex-teammate Oliver Bearman by a comfortable margin, despite the Brit performing well at various Formula 1 races as a replacement last year.
A driver with an aggressive mentality, new boss Wolff may have to speak to Antonelli over ‘attack’ comments he has made before his debut.
READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli has one ‘immediately obvious’ trait that his Mercedes engineers already love
There’s a fine line that he has already crossed once at the Italian Grand Prix last year, where his oozing confidence put him in harm’s way, as he speared into the barriers.
Antonelli will face many lessons this season, and mistakes must be expected, but with some luck, he may yet be in contention to be the sport’s first-ever rookie champion.
