Kimi Antonelli told he’s already doing a ‘better job’ than Lewis Hamilton after key Miami Grand Prix observation

One of the biggest storylines heading into the 2025 Formula 1 season was how Lewis Hamilton and Andrea Kimi Antonelli were going to fare at Ferrari and Mercedes respectively.

Lewis Hamilton deciding to swap Mercedes for Ferrari at this stage of his career caught plenty of people by surprise.

Hamilton has had to adapt quickly to life at Ferrari but appears to have joined the team just at the point where they made a serious misstep in their development path.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had plenty of drivers suddenly offering their services to him to replace Hamilton, but his mind was quickly made up on who should partner George Russell this year.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli quickly appeared at the top of Wolff’s list, and although his public debut in an F1 car ended in the barriers at Monza, his decision was quickly justified.

The Italian teenager already has a pole position to his name and his first podium finish is likely to be just around the corner.

Justin Bell was analysing how the pair have fared after the first six races of the season and thinks Antonelli already has the upper hand over Hamilton in one area.

READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats

Kimi Antonelli doing a ‘better job’ at Mercedes than Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari this season

Bell was speaking on the Drive to Wynn Podcast following the Miami Grand Prix and explained, “I think when Kimi gets unleashed, we see his full potential, was the leash slackened off a bit?

“Was it loosened this week by Toto and his engineer to allow him to show a bit more speed?

“Me thinks so. But of course, what happened in the race is something else.

“It’s also an interesting thing to compare him to Lewis Hamilton, technically at different ends of the spectrum, [but] they’re both in new cars with new teams for the first time, right?

“So, you would think that a lot of the same pressures are at play. They’re both having to learn this proprietary technology, understanding how everything works.

“But arguably, Kimi is doing a better job than Lewis. He is definitely right up at the top of the field, and he isn’t giving any snarky, rude radio calls to his team.

“He’s just keeping his head down, he’s keeping a level head and he’s dealing with that intense pressure like a pro.”

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Kimi Antonelli earned plaudits after Miami Grand Prix performance

McLaren have the fastest car on the grid this season, but Max Verstappen has proved over one lap that the team are fallible.

He’s already secured three pole positions, with Oscar Piastri taking two and Lando Norris starting from the front of the grid in Australia.

However, it’s fitting that Antonelli and Hamilton are the two drivers with pole positions in the two Sprint Races this season.

Martin Brundle hailed Antonelli after the Sprint Race in Miami even if an early mistake cost him his shot at victory.

He should have finished higher than P6 if it were not for a clash with Verstappen in the pit lane that prevented him from changing his tyres.

Danica Patrick was blown away by Antonelli and he’s currently on course to have the best rookie season in Formula 1 since Hamilton narrowly missed out on the title in 2007.