Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s future Mercedes team-mate George Russell has said the Italian teenager “absolutely has the speed” to thrive in Formula 1.
Antonelli, who turned 18 this month, is a long-serving member of the Mercedes Junior Programme and shot straight from FRECA last year to embark on his rookie FIA Formula 2 campaign in 2024.
From the moment Lewis Hamilton announced in pre-season that this year would be his last with Mercedes ahead of a move to Ferrari, Antonelli’s name was atop the list of potential replacements.
On Saturday, Mercedes confirmed Antonelli’s place alongside Russell for the 2025 F1 season and the multiple GP winner is adamant his young counterpart has what it takes to perform at the top level.
“I think I’ve always believed that you gain a lot of the time with experience, in terms of how to deal with a race weekend, the tyres, the team,” Russell said.
“But I don’t believe I’m any faster today on raw pace than I was when I was 17 years old. And I think you’ve either got the speed, or you don’t have the speed. And Kimi absolutely has the speed.
“He’s proven that in all of his categories. There will be mistakes on the way, as there were for all of us. I think every single driver on the grid in Formula 1 in their first couple of seasons made very visual mistakes, and that’s obviously going to be highlighted more for any driver who’s at the front of the field.
“Kimi’s exceptionally fast, and I’ve got no doubt he’s going to be really keeping me on my toes next year, and I’m looking forward to a new challenge.
“Three years working with Lewis has been exceptional, but really looking forward to seeing what we can do together from next year onwards.”
Antonelli got his first outing in the Mercedes W15 on Friday, contesting the FP1 session in place of Russell.
The Italian was quick out of the blocks, setting the fastest time right out of the gate but over-exuberance on his second push-lap, which would have been faster still, saw him incur a 45G at Parabolica.
That prompted further scepticism from some blind to Antonelli’s raw ability that the youngster isn’t ready to compete on the F1 stage, but Russell refuted any such notion.
“When I look back to when I was 18 years old, there’s obviously so much to learn,” he said.
“But I think as a driver you have the speed or you don’t have the speed. I’m very confident that Kimi has the speed.
“Everybody on their journey is going to make mistakes. That’s part of life and part of this sport.
“I have no doubt Kimi will learn from yesterday but he’s definitely got the speed to help Mercedes get back to the front of the grid for next year and onwards and that’s exactly why he’s going to be alongside me in the car next year.”
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