It’s still too early to say after just one race, but Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff will already be feeling justified in his decision to promote Andrea Kimi Antonelli into their vacant race seat for the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Mercedes have had a year to prepare for the exit of Lewis Hamilton after he announced his move to Ferrari before the start of last season.
After months of deliberation, Toto Wolff decided to partner George Russell with 18-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli after an incredible junior career.
A Q1 exit at the Australian Grand Prix wasn’t what Antonelli wanted but he was only a few tenths behind his teammate with a damaged car.
However, he recovered beautifully to finish P4 and pick up an impressive haul of points for Mercedes that leaves them joint top of the constructors’ championship.
Antonelli needed to use all of his skill to stay on the track and a spin heading into turn four was the only error he made during the race.
Martin Brundle was writing his column for Sky Sports F1 after the race and was very quick to praise the teenager after being the only rookie to score points during this season’s opener.
Kimi Antonelli impresses Martin Brundle with ‘spectacularly mature’ Australian Grand Prix display
Reflecting on how both Mercedes drivers performed in Melbourne, Brundle said: “George Russell was just out of the picture all day but finished a fine third for Mercedes, and the first of likely many podiums this year.
“They’ll need to find some speed to catch McLaren though.
“His teenage teammate Kimi Antonelli drove a spectacularly mature first GP.
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“Despite a quick spin in turn four he made some great overtakes, kept moving forward at a solid race pace – often matching Russell – and despite a five-second unsafe pit stop release penalty which was later rescinded, he finished fourth.
“Mercedes have another star on their hands and jointly lead the team championship with McLaren.
“It’s irrelevant of course, but both Mercs pitted very timely and calmly for the final time on lap 44.”
Kimi Antonelli matches impressive Jean Alesi feat on his Formula 1 debut
Antonelli was disappointed to start from P16 on his F1 debut but it gave him the perfect opportunity to test himself in the trickiest conditions.
Although it wasn’t quite Max Verstappen’s legendary run in Sao Paulo last year where he went from 17th to first in torrential rain, he still turned plenty of heads.
After his Q1 exit, he said: “Starting P16 is, of course, not ideal. That is particularly true when you look at our pace in FP3 as I think we could have been challenging near the front of the grid.”
READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats
However, by climbing 12 positions – thanks in part to a well-timed final pit stop – Antonelli perfectly matched Jean Alesi’s Formula 1 debut.
The Frenchman debuted at his home Grand Prix in 1989 for Tyrrell in 16th, outqualifying the likes of Nelson Piquet and Rene Arnoux.
He benefitted from plenty of mechanical failures with the likes of Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger unable to finish the race and also came home in fourth like Antonelli.
On Instagram, Alesi reacted to the statistic and said, ‘Thank you Kimi’, and they both arrived in Formula 1 with plenty of hype surrounding them.
However, the Italian will hope he can beat Alesi’s tally of one Grand Prix victory during his career.
