Valtteri Bottas says Kimi Antonelli has already done something ‘nobody’ at Mercedes expected during debut F1 season

Andrea Kimi Antonelli arrived on the Formula 1 grid this season with higher expectations than any other rookie.

Mercedes put their faith in the Italian teenager before he had even finished school and accelerated his progress up the motor racing ladder to fill the void left by the great Lewis Hamilton.

George Russell has stepped up in Hamilton’s absence impeccably as the team’s lead driver.

His pole position lap at the Canadian Grand Prix was one of his finest performances in Formula 1 although Russell is still trying to earn a Mercedes contract extension with his deal running out at the end of the season.

However, this undermined the progress Kimi Antonelli made during practice and qualifying to earn his spot on the second row of the grid.

Antonelli appeared to be struggling on his first visit to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve but performed brilliantly to put in a lap that will see him start ahead of the likes of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc.

Mercedes reserve driver Valtteri Bottas has been aiding Antonelli’s development behind the scenes this season.

He’s admitted that the 18-year-old has exceeded expectations already and pointed to one moment that proved he was the right choice to replace Hamilton this season.

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‘Nobody’ at Mercedes expected Kimi Antonelli’s Miami Grand Prix Sprint Race pole position

Bottas took part in an interview with the Mirror and when asked about Antonelli’s start to life in F1, he said: “He did something that nobody expected yet.

“In the first quarter of the first season of his career, sticking it on pole on a track that he didn’t know – that was pretty amazing.

“And I think for many people in the team, it confirmed that he was the right choice for this year.”

“I’ve been trying to help him when I can, especially on the new tracks that he doesn’t know.

“He’s got great engineers helping him, even his dad is helping him a lot. So I try to read the situation like when should I jump in and when to give him space as well.”

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Toto Wolff calls out people comparing Lewis Hamilton and Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Antonelli has spent his first season in Formula 1 trying to downplay any comparisons between himself and Hamilton.

The seven-time world champion’s struggles at Ferrari have relieved some of the pressure on the Italian who currently sits directly behind the man he replaced in the drivers’ championship.

Toto Wolff thinks it’s ‘unfair’ that people are comparing Antonelli to Hamilton and it’s hard to disagree.

The 18-year-old knows that a lack of experience isn’t an excuse he can lean on too heavily given he’s racing for a team aiming for regular podiums this season.

However, Wolff is keen to give his new driver time, even if Antonelli’s current contract expires at the end of the season.

Antonelli is yet to secure his first Formula 1 podium, but the Canadian Grand Prix offers him the perfect opportunity to achieve that feat.

Tyre management is likely to be critical to Sunday’s race and while that hasn’t been Antonelli’s strong point yet, he’s shown over his first 10 Grand Prix weekends how quickly he can improve.