Helmut Marko warns future F1 star ‘has to bring in results now’ to succeed

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There will be no shortage of new talent on the Formula 1 grid in 2025 when there is set to be at least two new rookies joining the pool of 20 drivers.

Oliver Bearman has been the stand-out driver who will make his full-time debut with Haas, having had outings with the team and technical partner Ferrari this season.

He will lineup alongside experienced driver Esteban Ocon, who will likely provide both teams with a chance to measure the Brition’s skills against one of the tougher drivers to beat on track.

Bearman’s teammate in Formula 2, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, is the next hotly anticipated youngster set to debut for Mercedes and replace seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton.

Although Antonelli suffered an embarrassing crash during his first outing with Mercedes in a public session at Monza, he impressed with his ability to get up to speed straight away by going quicker than Max Verstappen at some sections of the track.

Mercedes has set their sights on him as their next big talent to come through the ranks, although Helmut Marko has warned the 18-year-old will need to produce results out of the box to achieve success in the future when speaking to Motorsport-Total.

Helmut Marko warns Andrea Kimi Antonelli must ‘bring in results now’

Marko is known for being tough on drivers in the Red Bull programme, with Christian Horner recently admitting that the Austrian was keen to replace Daniel Ricciardo earlier in the season after one disastrous weekend in Miami.

As the main talent scout for Red Bull, Marko knows what to look for in a driver during the early stages of their career.

When asked if Antonelli was on his radar, Marko said: “of course” before he was snapped up by Mercedes in 2019 at just 12 years old. “But you can’t have them all,” added Marko.

Marko warned Mercedes that success is “in no way guaranteed” for the Italian and that “Antonelli has to bring in results now” to be a worthwhile investment later on.

Ferrari passed on being able to sign Kimi Antonelli early on

It is likely several teams had their eye on Antonelli during his early years in karting due to how successful he was at such a young age.

By the age of 15, he was a two-time European karting champion while also going on to win four single-seater championships in two seasons. He backed up his credentials with a win in his debut F2 season this year at just 17 years old, despite troubles for Prema.

READ MORE: Who is Mercedes academy driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli? Everything to know

Marko believes Antonelli’s affiliation with TonyKart during the early stages of his career would have made him “first choice” with Ferrari, but for whatever reason the Italian team decided not to sign him to their Driver Academy.

Mercedes now has one of the brightest futures in F1 under its wings as he partners alongside George Russell in 2025, although Peter Windsor believes he should not learn from his teammate and instead take inspiration from Hamilton.