Six reasons Mercedes chose Kimi Antonelli to replace Lewis Hamilton in F1

[@iamlato]

tbh im glad we're getting a bunch of new rookies again. i like when the grid is really scrambled up like this

[@pooyakhalili406]

Finally, one of the top teams put a young talent in their car. It's nice to see. He has a lot of potential and will learn from his mistakes

[@DarkPhoenixDack125]

He has an average finishing position of 7th in F2 (the races he's finished) and a single win. I'm not entirely sure where the talent is to be honest. Oscar Piastri had one 5 races with an average finishing position of 4th for comparison. You can get your hopes up, but I don't expect much.

[@diogoribas6420]

Piastri

[@meirl5700]

@@DarkPhoenixDack125f2 supposedly isn’t a good metric this season because the racing teams can’t figure them out, good example is bearman doing well in his f1 race sub for sainz earlier this season but is currently worse than kimi in the standings. It’s likely the winner of F2 this season won’t get a drive, and no 2 is a rb academy driver so assuming they do kick either Perez or riccardo out he’s relegated to reserve until like 2026/7. And the Williams swap for sergeant this week also hasn’t been too good in F2.

[@j.b.o6829]

@@DarkPhoenixDack125F2 is an absolute joke of a series and shouldn’t be taken seriously

[@DarkPhoenixDack125]

@@meirl5700 Bearman finished 7th in the 2nd fastest car. I guess him not crashing and making into Q2 was a good showing?

[@sandalphoncpu]

I’m glad The Race displayed the telemetry of Antonelli’s stints. He got the mix of aggression and confidence straight away just like Hamilton, Vettel, and Verstappen before him, and we’ve seen what they achieved over the years. It’s up to Mercedes to iron out his weaknesses and extract his full potential

[@Quick_in_and_out]

Let's not forget that Max took many years to iron out the creases (I'd even argue he's still working on that in terms of his overtaking and defending being over the line and relying on others not wanting a visit to the hospital due to a high speed crash).

[@Jout8-re1ij]

@@Quick_in_and_out Has he ever put anybody else on hospital. No, so I dont think he would be close for even doing that. His just aggressive with his attacking and defending always, but it aint close to anybody end up in hospital.

[@user-tn4ix6ir6z]

Looks like a rookie that isn't afraid to push the car to the bleeding edge

[@Avonnieuwland]

Exactly, this wasn’t a usual rookie crash. This is young kid immediately driving on the edge comfortable. Just pushed bit a to far, but he learned it the hard way .

[@xtinct16]

Mick Schumacher was the same, but on a much worse unpredictable car and look where he is now.

[@Noa56Den]

@@Avonnieuwland thats what im sayying like when you race on iracing with a new car track layout you crash/spin more times you can count to find the limits

[@dodgemf1]

Bleeding edge AKA fence

[@ch4se98]

I mean lot of experienced drivers went off and had a near moments in that corner so what do you expect from rookie who skipped f3. I will be cheering for him next season for sure.

[@smartawesome376]

Was quite unfortunate that his crash was so big and overshadowed his debut

[@Ethanius_Zeus]

I’m gonna root for both of them, I believe Kimi will be the next super max and bearman will be the next Charles but better.

[@TassieLorenzo]

Ultimately it was Antonelli's own fault as much as it was Mercedes GP's fault for putting Antonelli on a qualifying sim plan to attempt to get him to top the session to make for a more impressive driver announcement.

[@Jout8-re1ij]

@@Ethanius_Zeus Why you think a guy made of bear will be better, than Leclerc. You seem like twelve year old F1 fan, so thats why you have so much optimism for the new drivers, but I dont think they will be better, than Verstappen, when Verstappen is among the best the sport has ever seen.

[@Ethanius_Zeus]

@@Jout8-re1ij I’m saying because these rookies are already proving themselves only being involved in 1 or 2 races in the past year. Franco Colapinto is a good example, the team principal at Williams says Albon has WDC level driving but Franco Colapinto out qualified and out race Albon Twice. I do agree though that no one can push a car as hard as max

[@mr_exia]

Toto to Williams: "Take Mick, he's a good driver who couldn't show his abilities." Toto for his own team:

[@lmaomoofeq]

he isnt wrong. Mick was extremely unlucky in his second season. He can be a great midfield driver, better than Perez and Hulkenberg in their prime. But, the talent pool in F1 out of nowhere is filled with world championship winning prospects, that being a midfield driver can't warrant you a seat anymore. although, kmag should have gotten the sack, not Mick.

[@bimoaa]

he missed a media session? He really is Kimi

[@_Tp___]

Carlos Sainz had a very close call in the same place. The safety car crashed in a similar place. Magnussen crashed. Gasly spun. I don't really think of him that badly after the crash considering how the new surface appears to be without being rubbered in properly.

[@abigailmcdowell4248]

Well the safety car crashed due to some kind of brake failure, rather than a driver making a mistake or pushing too far

[@Raiga2k9]

Toto wants this to be his Max SO BADLY.

[@garythefishable]

Max used to crash a lot when he was young aswell so you could say this was a positive start if thats what he's after.

[@kenzabel5394]

well if kimi begin to beat russell then he's better than max, cause max didn't face very fast drivers as temamates in his career and to be this young and beat a fast driver is very special lewis did it in 2007 but he was 21 while kimi is 18 and skipped f3 and only had one year in f2

[@Karincl7]

Nobody wants a max rookie

[@Nikelaos_Khristianos]

Renault tried this before in the 00s. They promoted Grosjean before he was ready in 2009 - they thought he was the next Alonso because it worked before - and early Grosjean was bloody fast but also extremely crash-happy (like more so than when he came back in 2012!) So this really could go either way for Mercedes. 🤷‍♂️

[@mangatom192]

With redbull's perfomance this part of the season, toto may get the real max.😂😂

[@gileshalliwell3591]

Ken Tyrrell said of one driver “you can tidy up speed but you can’t speed up tidinesses..”

[@paullavallee1631]

Wise decision since George has the experience and there is room for a rookie, only a 1 year deal and if it doesn't work out there is the option to switch out Kimi

[@BabyIshii]

But if he fails he will lose chance to return on f1 grid

[@kenzabel5394]

why switch when he's still young and has so much to learn?

[@Karincl7]

​@@kenzabel5394new fans don t have the time to wait

[@serfwallace]

@@Karincl7 more like Toto Wolff wants to be on the winning side as soon as possible as it's partially his own team.

[@kenzabel5394]

@@Karincl7 😂 it's not the decision of fans, it's about team principals and stake holders, fans only watch what happens, they don't have a say of who should stay or leave, by the way new fans only watch the sport because of dts and they're only ruining the sport

[@aprilp660]

Side note but it is crazy how safety systems have allowed drivers to shake off a 53G impact. Amazing engineering!

[@mikolaygrudzien8764]

the reality is, if it was the seventies, this young kid may not have walked away. With all the safety measures in place less talented drivers can survive and continue. Some really talented drivers lost their lives in the past, there was no such thing as pay drivers, the possibility of losing your life was all too real, it took a special breed.

[@GameOver-nm2us]

@@mikolaygrudzien8764 there was nothing back then other than pay drivers

[@mikolaygrudzien8764]

@@GameOver-nm2us F1 does attract the super wealthy, no doubt about it. You might be missing my point about todays stage managed corporate dominated business approach. Back in the day if a driver or team won more than one WDC or WCC it was because of huge talent and a good dose of luck given the dangers, now with all the safety measures and additional rules it is much more predictable for the money people.

[@jiboo6850]

people have to remember that Verstappen was a big crasher at the beginning. i remember what elder racers were saying about it. "the sooner he finds the limits, the better it will be for him for the future". so crashing at the beginning isn't a big deal to me. THEY HAVE TO. in order to find the sweet spot for tyres and different compounds. this is a totally normal process to me. if he keeps doing it on a regular basis in the following year, then we'll be able to judge him properly. let him get the feel of this beast of a car. kid is rather small and skinny. he has to get more muscles too. just let the kid learn.

[@sameersheriff7078]

Perhaps thats what merc has become from winning titles to tutoring kids how to drive f1 cars !!! no wonder why lewis leaving and no one's ready to join em starting from sainz !!!!

[@jiboo6850]

@@sameersheriff7078 you clearly didn't read and don't understand the situation. car is getting good. kid is learning, his test sessions were great. stop being mad at nothing. get a grip. 😮‍💨

[@sameersheriff7078]

@@jiboo6850 So f1 is kids play these day lol his test sessions are whatever i never said he's good or bad but simply pointed out merc are making desperate decisions that's it

[@massimodegrazia2192]

​@@sameersheriff7078 Why do you keep lying? Plenty of drivers wanted to drive for mercedes since Hamilton announced his departure to Ferrari (like Alonso and your beloved Sainz) but mercedes preferred to beat around the bush until they decided to give Antonelli a shot. There is nothing wrong with tutoring a junior, especially if said junior is expected to be a generational talent.

[@audrob2163]

A while ago, The Race and Aldas did a podcast talking about drivers who would be future F1 champions. The Race said to keep an eye on Antonelli and they where right. (The podcast was before Antonelli raced in f2 I belive)

[@BPBomber]

This channel needs to hire Aldas. He is a much better F1 reporter than any of the blowhards on this channel.

[@506thLittleberry]

I think it's hilarious that Russell was supposed to be the future of Mercedes making Hamilton obsolete, but right when the car is starting to get competitive again he is already old news and the new future of Mercedes is in and they're looking to sign Verstappen too.

[@Juventinos]

very true.

[@valerierodger]

Haven’t been particularly fond of George since Sakhir went to his head and he got arrogant, but I do feel a little bit sorry for him in this. Mercedes stuck him in Williams, keeping Bottas on a year to year contract because they didn’t figure George was ready. When he did get to Mercedes, he was still in Hamilton‘s shadow, only really taking on a team leader role this year because Hamilton is cut out of many discussions due to leaving the team. So it looks like George will finally have his time to really shine… and then along comes this kid who isn’t just pushed up through the junior formulas, he’s going directly to Mercedes rather than getting stuck in a back marker team for years. And then just to rub salt in the wound he crashes George’s car just before his signing is announced.

[@GameOver-nm2us]

@@valerierodger and even then this season he's being beaten by Hamilton (Mostly due to bad luck). Man can't catch a break, kinda feel bad.

[@gustavoe1898]

The question is Why did not give Antonelli to Williams for this second half and give the kid a proper experience training for the upcoming season.

[@williamford9564]

Because Williams was not going to poison its own driver development program by bringing in a driver with no experience. It would send the wrong sign and future prospects for their program would surely take notice.

[@ashantedula5696]

​@williamford9564 you act like drivers have leverage over the team. It's only 20 seats. The teams hold all the cards. Bad signal or not a rookie will always take a f1 seat vs sitting at home. And if they have concerns just open up.the piggy bank like they did with sainz

[@williamford9564]

@@ashantedula5696 What the fuck are you talking about? JAMES VOWLES SAID that was why they put their development driver in the seat instead of going outside.

[@tHebUm18]

If only the video literally covered this.

[@rondrajaeev2957]

​@@williamford9564they put a rookie in place of sargent anyways. Why not antonelli

[@williamford9564]

0:02: And before he "crashed big time" he put in a mega lap that astonished Toto and the entire paddock.

[@Italiansupercarvideo]

As an Italian, I'm thrilled to see this young guy on a top team like Mercedes. We need to give him time to learn; 2025 will be helpful for this. Undoubtedly, Toto Wolff is putting together a truly talented team that can guarantee satisfaction in the future. Russell himself has shown to be fast and consistent.

[@Wildcat12]

Wolff wants his own Verstappen bad to make up for not getting the actual Verstappen before. Hopefully Antonelli is actually of that caliber, too many show up and sink and that’s a lot of expectations for an 18 year old who hasn’t even finished a season in F2 yet

[@Troy-McLore]

1:06, The barrier pointing out who just hit it 👀

[@TheGalantHamburger]

Listening to Hamilton and Wolff comments, and interpreting them while reading between the lines a little, Mercedes wanting Antonelli on the books effectively pushed Hamilton out at Mercedes, by not giving Hamilton the two year deal he wanted in order to leave things open for Antonelli left Hamilton feeling unwanted and pushed him to leaving the team he’s said before he wanted to retire in. Hamiltons little snide comment after Quali. About maybe Mercedes won’t get Quali. problems from Kimi next year confirmed that for me. Hamilton has had his ego bruised by these cars, then an apparent lack of faith from Mercedes for the NEXT generation of cars in 2026 was the final straw for him. Fingers crossed Ferrari can give him a car he can enjoy, but that 8th Title is long gone now.

[@valerierodger]

You seem to be forgetting that Hamilton has often said, many times, that he would like to drive for Ferrari. You’re ignoring that he has been talking to Ferrari for years, but only decided to leave Mercedes when Mercedes couldn’t figure out their car and was ignoring what their drivers were telling them. Ferrari absolutely looked like the better prospect a year ago. He wasn’t pushed to leave the team - and it was very clear that Toto was not happy to see him go - if Hamilton hadn’t signed for Ferrari, Kimi would have either spent another year in F2 or been placed with a smaller team as so often happens.

[@fallenshallrise]

Good on Mercedes for this line-up. What is the point of either running 2 steady eddie drivers and missing out on talent coming out of F2 - or running 2 rookies who make mistakes and crash the cars so your mechanics are too busy rebuilding cars to work on setups and the engineers have no idea what upgrades are working. Also the wind tunnel and CFD budgets come from constructor points and all the marketing value comes from the drivers championship and race wins so for the top teams it could be a long term advantage to have a clear #1 driver who gets wins and then have the team down in 3rd or 4th in points while your rookie driver learns the ropes.

[@thesighbored]

Merc finally gets their Max Hopefully

[@JScott-lg4jb]

If Russell had gone to Merc in 2021, would Bottas have gone to Red Bull instead of Checo?

[@ventisette.]

Oh for fuck’s sake, he’s even worse

[@dublion7]

@@ventisette.😂😂😂

[@thegreatafrican3367]

@@ventisette.He NEVER missed Q3 in Mercedes

[@Rampage1Rules]

​@@thegreatafrican3367that statistic is mighty ngl

[@Desert_Rogue_Tanker]

​@@thegreatafrican3367you have a good point there😅

[@happycanayjian1582]

I’m kinda chuffed to see what this kid can do. He’s pint-sized, and a whole lot younger, compared to Russell. Russell could be #2 within about 3 seasons if the kid continues on his upward trajectory. 🚀📈

[@CosmicSeeker69]

'could' - 'if'

[@happycanayjian1582]

@@CosmicSeeker69 Well, yeah, that’s how opinions and suppositions kinda work… 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@KaptainChaos999]

the funny part is Toto sits on his high horse bragging bout mick deserving a seat all the while he had a seat available then decides to put a kid in the seat over mick who has experience 🤣🤣😂😂

[@CosmicSeeker69]

Toto was veeeeeery clever with Mick..... very clever

[@tHebUm18]

Doesn't Toto manage Mick? Toto gets paid if anyone takes him up so of course he tries. The trouble for Mick is it's very clear he's at best a middling tier 2nd driver and no team needs that. RB has a 2nd driver + a pile of replacements better than Mick and other teams currently are mostly trying to get the best driver lineup they can in trying to catch RB or maximize points/minimize damage hurting the cost cap in the lower half of the field.

[@davidmaslenka5940]

@@Epicacactusyou mean crashtonelli ?

[@KA-om9oz]

Better setting on a high horse vs a pony. Kid learn yourself😂

[@jackishy1261]

He already signed before the summer break, it was just planned to announce it on Monza

[@LtNduati]

I want to see Kimi do well, but maybe this is also why Carlos signed with Williams. If the 2025 Mercedes is a championship winning capable car, and whether it be through driver clashes that hurt Mercedes, a la Nico vs Lewis, or if Kimi just isn't what we all thought he would crack up to be (becomes a Nyck 2.0 essentially) Toto could call James and boom, driver swap, Kimi moves to williams to develop a little more, and Mercedes get a solid replacement #2, that can become the #1 driver on any given weekend when the conditions align

[@apophisstr6719]

Well, this is exactly what most of us wanted, young new faces, unpredictability, and the chance of witnessing the potential making of a new legend.

[@user-nu5hc9ou1s]

Just to be clear: Antonelli is not the replacement of sir Lewis Hamilton but his successor. There is a huge difference in those two words ;) for example Sargeant is replaced.

[@marioelburro1492]

Havnt been watching f1 long enough to see a rookie improve over 2 plus years apart from Piastri, but the guy is only 18. He will have plenty of time to learn and adjust to f1

[@heavyharris5580]

Leclerc was only at Alfa for a year, unlike Russell. Either way, I think Wolff knows more than I do about these things

[@jakubsamoowka7459]

Fingers crossed for youngster💪🏎️💪 still I can't help feeling that Merc is a Partner and media patron of the material 😂😂 You have literally presented no doubts or risks to this decision. If you just have predicted next decade future, big applause. He will step into the biggest shoes to fill.

[@TherealLIVING_GojoSatoru]

the bot comments are crazy

[@williamford9564]

7:29: VERY good point!

[@oneshotme]

I very much enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@MichaelEilers]

By the time that practice session ended, he was a full 1.6 seconds behind the leader laps. That purple out of the gate was because he was one of the first runners - do we need to explain timing to you?

[@aberamagold7509]

6:36 Wow, that must have been a huge thrill for him... ... Getting to watch a race with Jack Whitehall.

[@flashyred9125]

Albon is doing wonders with that Williams! It should tell you why Sargent's performance was considered underperformance.

[@charleswinter1335]

We shall see... I wish him the best of luck, at least he seems to be in a good team that is willing to give him time to develop.

[@MFTBSportsChannel25]

Great content as always. We done a video on home a while ago

[@IAmPdawg]

Max and Lewis both made mistakes early in their car because they DID push the limits and look where it got them. I think he genuinely has a lot of potential.

[@Maruman_man]

Lewis did not. He nearly won 2007 championship

[@IAmPdawg]

@@Maruman_man but he didn’t

[@Maruman_man]

@@IAmPdawg he wasn't known as crashstappen either

[@IAmPdawg]

@@Maruman_man oh so you’re just a Max hater. Gotcha, your opinion is now irrelevant.

[@Maruman_man]

@EverSoPossiblyPat lol. OK thank you your highness.

[@arikelvara]

He had a smashing debut !

[@fist003]

dang, i forgot to turn down the volume before playing the video

[@JustinW2980]

I am looking forward to these 2025 driver lineups.

[@whassupg89]

Feel sorry for him being so over hyped by his own team. Let’s see how he goes next year. Good luck to him

[@grospipo20]

This will either be a genius move or a disaster for mercs

[@fathertimegaming17]

I think that's an encouraging crash on a strange curve and not holding back. I think that's a great sign for the future.

[@tuicks11]

Everyone so supportive of a young driver braking 30 meters after the previous lap and going 30 kph faster on entry...Its good young drivers get a chance but this is a red flag from the get go. Lets see how supportive everyone is next year on his 4th or 5th crash of the season.... Sugar coating the recklessness as better than a slower driver wont erase what a big fumble this was on his 2nd lap....Maybe ill be wrong in the future. Right now this looks like a bad decision from Mercedes instead of signing Sainz.

[@magicair6021]

The starks would be proud. The barrier is even prouder 😅

[@urbanstrencan]

Mercedes really putting a lot of confidence behind Kimi , let's see next year

[@slap_k_man1862]

signing max was the best thing for red bull did past present and future lol merc can no longer hope for a constructor championship nor low crash bill after hiring a Italian rookie lol

[@tdyerwestfield]

At the end of the day, he's 18. You're going to get fearless aggression and immaturity. It'll take plenty more hits like that before the fearlessness recedes. But then again, he could go down the Marc Marquez route and never lose that no matter the crashes and life-changing injuries.

[@statixsc3013]

You only need one. Seems talented enough and probably a % of the cost.

[@CatsAndCode]

That would be so fuuny. Same things exactly they said about Russle

[@damarcoreed1367]

One thing I hate about critics is the ones who’s never in their life been in that Situation let alone a F1 but have soo much criticism about a 18year old

[@englishrobex]

Braked 30m later! Going 30kph faster. Ffs. Russell should be flipping furious.

[@adicontra]

merc is betting on the future based on some talent. to be honest, i didnt saw so much talent in F2. in F1 was too exalted to drive so he crash. maybe in a full season will unleash, but for the moment, he looks like they have a lot of work to do with him (yes, yes, i know max was the same in 2015, but this seems different)

[@valerierodger]

If you didn’t see his talent in F2, you don’t understand what you’re seeing. Take a look at his teammate’s experience and accomplishments, and how completely Kimi is dominating him

[@adicontra]

@@valerierodger first, as i watched every f1 season from 1991 and f2 season from 2016 (gp2), i think i have a clear view on what is going in f2 these days. second: he is not even remotly close to leclerc or piastri in terms of talent. i dont know what is going in prema garage with those setups, but the driver's input clearly not helping improving. 3rd. unfortunately, bearman did too much tests and simulator for ferrari and haas to can focus to f2. if you ask me, bearman is also a gamble in a long run. much like nick devries, after a good 2021 monza, got a contract, but didnt confirm in first part of season (maybe too much presure in short time from dr. helmut)

[@Juventinos]

unreal.. we had a demonstration of the rick and reward. what reward?

[@liondriven9073]

Wolf : "I'd rather slow somebody down than make him fast because the second one is impossible"... at the end of the day, the first one crashes the car, the second one scores P11

[@mattcintron6372]

He’s getting a really lucky start. He’s not going to waste away at Willams or haas and won’t get eaten alive at RB

[@MrSniperfox29]

This is the team who wouldn't drop Bottas for Russell That's because Williams had an iron clad contract with Russell and told Mercedes to naff off every time Mercedes tried to get him back which is why Bottas would only get his renewals after Williams announced Russell

[@paulão-72]

Very good from the 3rd best rookie in f2

[@guilhermefonseca1562]

Russel about to become Ricciardo 2.0

[@LSB001]

More like Antonelli is about to become Vandoorne 2.0.

[@nfpnone8248]

If you watched his performance in the F2 feature then you would know why they chose to bring him up to F1. In fact his driving style reminds me of Lauda and Senna, which for an 18 year old is extraordinary.

[@jakestyx5808]

Merc already thinking they have a Hamilton - Botas with Russel - Antonelli in 25 is interesting

[@halofreak1990]

If Antonelli is truly Toto's Max Verstappen, it'll be the other way around, with Russell being the Bottas to Antonelli.

[@tHebUm18]

@@halofreak1990 Nah. If Antonelli is Max caliber, George is more likely his Nico Rosberg. Only after sparks flying between them will Antonelli get a Bottas.

[@LSB001]

Russell is better than Hamilton. You're just a delusional hater. Merc have sabotaged Russell multiple times this season to let Lulu catch up in points.

[@Goblonium]

@@LSB001 Russel has the better car, and still has worse pace than Hamilton. Yes he is better in qualifying, and in Monza he got 3rd in quali, and messed up bad and went all the way to 7th. In the Belgian GP Russel was given the one-stop instead of Hamilton (prolly worked better because the car was underweight). Why would Merc sabotage their staying driver for a driver about to leave? Russel has been Merc's primary focus.

[@willmac5642]

He's bloody fast. Probably good he had an early prang.

[@deltafox1]

Remember Sainz is in Williams, which is a Mercedes Team. If Antonelli fails, he can go to Williams and Sainz can go to Mercedes

[@mrp8008]

Williams is not a mercedes team, it never was but in the past they didn't have the money to deny mercedes' offers to put drivers in. They can and will now, they have their own junior program and have had their own promotees in the the car for the past two years and their other two signings were directly driving for merc's rivals, albon was signed while they were pressured to put in mick in the car by merc and they didn't budge

[@ibrahimkalmati9379]

As toto said I rather want fast driver and make him slow and control than a slow driver and make him fast. Kid is fast and with time and experience he would learn self control.

[@chiefbeef9905]

Sainz replaces Sargeant (kinda), Hamilton replaces Sainz, Antonelli replaces Hamilton. Its hard to believe Antonelli will be worse than Sargeant, this is objectively great for Formula 1, even if he takes a while to settle in.

[@rossdark713]

To me, putting him in for 2025 made sense. Although Mercedes has started to improve this year, it will give him time to embed himself into the team and get himself settled in for a full on under pressure attack in 2026.

[@emmanueljamir]

Kimi will be fine, other experienced drivers were having trouble on this track in FP1.

[@openbabel]

who has the best Rooky for next year Oli Bearman Jack Doolan Antonelli or Williams junior driver ?

[@rodrigodaux7439]

Hats off to theese brave youngsters

[@monstermarc227]

I’m cheering for the kid, but let’s not pretend like Toto didn’t do this because he’s afraid of missing out on the next great superstar. I still believe a veteran next to George for one more year made more sense till the new regulations. George is still a young driver and I’m not sure he’s proving enough to be a lead driver on Mercedes.

[@selder_7]

I think they’ve learned from how they handled Russell that having him in the Williams first isn’t actually that helpful. Russell has still had to go through a lot of learning, including not crashing. Antonelli will get to learn to be in a top car (or team at least) immediately. That will mean crashing a lot of cars, but they need to accept that and give him time. If he flops then he wasn’t going to be their next champ anyway and they can go back to chasing Verstappen or just bring up Sainz or Albon

[@halofreak1990]

The benefit of his stint at Williams, was that Russell was already used to driving a sh*tbox of a car

[@AuslanIz]

Is simple to make a Fast driver drive slow and learn that make a slow driver to go fast!

[@charlien2489]

I thought I could hear him take an extra downshift which broke the rear loose mid-turn.

[@guypainter]

There is only ONE reason: They got fed up with Sainz procrastinating... thought he could get Merc and RBR into a bidding war and basically pissed on his chips by being greedy, blew the opportunity of a lifetime and now gets a NO PODIUM seat. Serves him right.

[@mikewallace1723]

Perhaps they are looking at 2026 season? Next year they train him. Gets his rookie year behind him. And then go for the championships? Do they see 2025 being like this year, where they can win the odd race but are not able to go for both championships?

[@z4yn_12]

I feel like this was a mistake, Antonelli is not ready yet for f1, I feel like they could have given that place to Sainz and wait a bit longer to put Antonelli in the car, rushing him like this will only create another Logan Sargeant

[@Banksia-Canaei]

Tell us you didn’t watch the video without telling us

[@Connor-jd5dl]

You cannot compare antonelli and Sargeant be fr 💀

[@roguecamel1828]

Kimi is very much a stroll clone , excited to see how he goes , promises so much

[@chad1411]

f1 should not be a training ground for young drivers, that's what the junior formula should be for. wolff has already said he expects antonelli to make many mistakes next year. there are only 20 seats available and it is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport. on a side note, i wonder what George Russell is feeling about it, given that wolff made him do 3 years in a Williams at its lowest point before promoting him to Mercedes....

[@richmondodudu2630]

Emphasizing the crash like it was some mistake admittedly he’s a rookie but he’s good and he’ll learn how to handle it with time. Senior drivers had issues at that same section in the same day

[@IsaacSturdee]

They’re compared him going flat out to contracted drivers Friday practice times and benchmarked those times by Maxs laps… when his car was far from the fastest at monza…. Interesting decision for sure

[@peterjohnson8935]

It's more interesting having a young hot shoe in the car. Quick,raw but with great potential.

[@mikeoxlong5928]

I think Mercedes should have signed Sainz. George Russell was older and more experienced and Mercedes still chose to keep him at Williams for 3 years if you all recall, saying he needed more experience before being trusted with the top seat. To me, this decision is nonsensical. But we’ll all find out the truth next year!

[@bishopoftroy]

There`s a rumour that Mercedes is already keeping a close eye on a 3 year old child that makes very realistic F1 noises. Probably will sign him for 2026.

[@andrefaelnar]

If Kimi is a generational talent, of course Mercedes had to get him to pair with George for next season.

[@igisanchez265]

Antonelli is pure steam. Screencap this.

[@Yoshi-dl4qv]

I just think that they will be able to relocate about 50 Million $ in saved wages towards car development and hope it will balance out

[@PngSehPeng]

Unfortunately , Carlos Sainz signed up Williams tean for 2025.....if....i think he can try become Mercedes team's second driver seat....

[@Matias.1.2.3]

Imo, i dont think this is a good move for merc, yea im happy we got more rookies in F1, but for Kimi its too soon, he seems like a total midfield driver in F2, had no experience in F3 and is now expected to perform for a TOP 3 team next season and expected like top 5-7 finishes all the time with the car he has, i think that amount of pressure on Kimi is just gonna drown him down on his confidence, before you all say "Oh but he went fastest in FP1!!!" realise that Kimi was pushing as if he was in Q3 given he wont partake for the rest of the sessions, while the other just tested theyre cars around just to see what feels good and wrong. Either way I hope Kimi will atleast have somewhat of a good start in F1 and not crumble under pressure.

[@QueenBeaTravels]

Toto is so traumatized by losing out on Max that he thinks this is Max 2.0. This is grounds for huge disappointment cause Max is a once in a generation talent. This was a FP1, not qualifying so his time IMO is a moot point. No one else was pushing like he was.

[@CosmicSeeker69]

i feel Toto is a lot wiser than many keyboard warriors...... I believe Toto was chasing Max as much to destabilize the Red Bull team as much as anything

[@halofreak1990]

@@CosmicSeeker69 I think @user-ck1lf7fp2s is referring to thew early days, back in 2015. Toto missed out on Max, due to not being prepared to offer him an F1 seat just yet, whereas Red Bull were willing to take the risk and bring him from his first and only F3 season straight to F1.

[@sebulbathx]

I have always thought George Russell was Mercedes future and just assumed he had a multi year deal. But I guess Kimi Antonelli is the future for Mercedes. Which makes George being in somewhat of a limbo. I mean he has his role in Mercedes but he could as well be kicked out if the right opportunity is given to Mercedes. Or I might got it wrong, idk....

[@thijshagenbeek8853]

He's also alot cheaper. Meaning more budget available for other things.

[@GalaxyTracker]

Meanwhile, for context, Bearman drove an impeccable race in Jeddah, a track where you are centimeters from a huge crash and fought wheel to wheel with half the grid. What's the fuss about Antonelli?

[@alafrosty]

If Antonelli doesn't damage his brain with all the crashing, he could be good. Someone should have told him to not beat anyone else on the track until he's gotten a boatload of laps under his belt.

[@davidmaslenka5940]

Don’t know,about Kimi crashtonelli

[@givemeabreak8784]

He also crashed in the F2 race. 😂😂😂 Toto admitted that some other teams wanted Kimi for his nationality. That team was Ferrari and they wanted him to replace Lewis when he retire. Toto will be able to sell him to scuderia when Max is available for a big box. Smart move by Toto 😂

[@sirloinestakegames7866]

He was collateral damage in Goethe and O'Sullivan's smash. Nothing he could have done to avoid it.