George Russell has already seen the evidence that Kimi Antonelli can succeed where Lewis Hamilton failed

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Kimi Antonelli is one of the most exciting prospects to join the Formula 1 grid in recent history and will jump straight into a victory-contending car.

Mercedes ended the 2024 season in strong fashion and started to deliver performance on all forms of circuits. Hot or cold, high-speed or low-speed, they were starting to turn up everywhere.

With a winter of development, there’s a chance that they could be on the heels of the top three, having finished a fair distance behind McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull in the constructors’ championship last year.

Kimi Antonelli has received the best preparation that any Formula 1 rookie has ever had, including multiple runs in older machinery to help familiarise him with the team’s processes.

He partners George Russell who just beat Lewis Hamilton in his last season with the team and has a lot of people believing that the seven-time champion cannot compete in qualifying anymore.

Mercedes were impressed with Antonelli’s maturity in 2024 as he faced a difficult Formula 2 season with PREMA, proving the youngster can handle some adversity.

Why Kimi Antonelli can win the F1 championship in his rookie season

Antonelli’s first push lap in an official session at last year’s Italian Grand Prix was a breathtaking ordeal until he crashed at the final ‘Parabolica’ corner.

His confidence and ability to throw the car at every turn was mighty, as he displayed a level of confidence rarely seen by rookies.

He’s entering the best situation that any debut driver has done since Hamilton joined McLaren back in 2007.

The Brit missed out on the title by one point that year. There’s no reason why with some positive car development, Antonelli can’t go one better

READ MORE: How Kimi Antonelli could break one of Max Verstappen’s oldest F1 records in his first three Mercedes races

New teammate Russell has already backed his talents, telling the F1 website that he already has the necessary speed to deliver.

“I think I’ve always believed that you gain a lot over time with experience, in terms of how to deal with the race weekend, the tyres, the team,” he 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.”

Why the pressure is off Kimi Antonelli during his 2025 F1 campaign

Fans have already compared Antonelli to Senna with a new nickname, calling him ‘Senninha’ ahead of his rookie campaign.

With the 2026 F1 regulations around the corner, there isn’t too much pressure to perform this year if Mercedes are unable to deliver a car which can compete for the title.

It’ll be treated as a learning curve for the young Italian, who will be expected to step up immediately in 2026 when the Silver Arrows set their eyes on reclaiming both championships.

READ MORE: Why Alpine’s 2026 power unit decision gives Mercedes ‘massive’ advantage over F1 rivals Ferrari

Mercedes factory noise suggests they could dominate in 2026, with a lot of confidence in their new power unit which they have spent a lot of time developing.

It would be beneficial for them to start the new regulations with the strongest engine, but given that they supply McLaren too, it’s likely that they will always have a battle on their hands.