Kimi Antonelli will immediately face the mighty Max Verstappen in his rookie Formula 1 season. Mercedes have pitted him against the sport’s best drivers at the outset.
Antonelli’s former F2 teammate Oliver Bearman starts in the midfield with Haas. The champion in the feeder series, Gabriel Bortoleto, begins with back-of-the-grid Sauber.
Isack Hadjar may not cope with the ‘savage’ Red Bull programme, but Liam Lawson could face the brunt of the pressure after replacing Sergio Perez as Verstappen’s teammate. The final rookie, Jack Doohan, is already fighting to keep his seat.
All of the newcomers would naturally trade places with Antonelli. They’ll each have a plan for reaching the front of the grid, but the Italian is already there.
Mercedes are trying to downplay expectations for Antonelli but their decision to promote him clearly gives him less time to learn. He’s succeeding the most successful, and most famous, F1 driver ever – Lewis Hamilton.
He also faces a formidable intra-team opponent in George Russell, who beat Hamilton last season. Russell will see himself as the team leader at Brackley, a vision Antonelli must disrupt.
Kimi Antonelli says Max Verstappen taught him a lesson in Mercedes practice appearance
Antonelli has completed an extensive testing programme in old Mercedes cars. But his experience of an F1 race weekend is limited to two practice sessions.
The first of those came at the Italian Grand Prix, where he briefly lit up the timesheets before thumping the barriers at Parabolica. He clearly took a more cautious approach in Mexico later in the year.
At one point, Antonelli encountered Verstappen in the final sector. The Red Bull driver disrupted his preparations with a late move.
This moment taught the teenager about the nature of F1. He must prove to his new rivals that he’s ‘not there to play’, even in a non-competitive session.
“I have already noticed how ruthless Max is, for example in FP1 in Mexico I was preparing for this lap and he pulled a brake on me right in the last sector of the last lap,” Antonelli told Sky Italy. “You have no friends out there.
“You have to be respected because it is also a way to gain respect from others. Obviously respecting the rules, but you have to show that you are not there to play, you are serious.”
How Kimi Antonelli stacked up against Charles Leclerc on karting track
One journalist who was on location at F1 testing says Antonelli radiates calmness on and off the track. Few would say the same about Verstappen, who clashed with his Red Bull team on the radio at times last season and was involved in a series of controversial incidents.
Assuming Antonelli can qualify among the elite drivers in Melbourne – and the gap to the midfield should be big enough for him to do that – it will be intriguing to see how aggressively he races. Based on his latest comments, he’s keen to send a message.
F1’s established stars have no doubt heard all the hype around Antonelli. But he knows he won’t truly earn their respect until he beats them or outmuscles them on track.
Antonelli beat Charles Leclerc’s lap record in a kart over the winter. He’s impressed at all levels of racing so far, but this is the test that truly matters.
