Kimi Antonelli makes ‘a lot of work to do’ claim before making his Mercedes F1 debut

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Mercedes could have explored a frantic driver’s market this year to try and find a replacement for the outgoing Lewis Hamilton.

Trying to uncover someone who could replicate what a seven-time world champion has achieved is next to impossible and so Mercedes went down a different route.

Mercedes have produced several Formula 1 drivers through their academy over the years.

George Russell is arguably their most successful graduate, but the likes of Esteban Ocon and Pascal Wehrlein also reached F1 with the support of the Anglo-German manufacturer.

Kimi Antonelli is set to be the latest driver backed by Mercedes and Toto Wolff to reach F1 when he races for the team in 2025.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes AMG F1 Team from team principal to lineage

The 18-year-old made headlines during his first practice session after finding the barriers ten minutes into his run.

Antonelli was pushing the car even beyond what Hamilton thought it was capable of and while that ended in a collision and Russell being left frustrated by watching his car get damaged, it highlighted that the Italian isn’t arriving in Formula 1 to make up the numbers.

Speaking at an event in Italy, via Motorsport, Antonelli previewed his time in Formula 1.

He was racing in FRECA – the level below Formula 3 – less than a year ago and now has thousands of kilometres of experience in an F1 car thanks to private testing sessions.

Mercedes have set up a simulator in Antonelli’s home to help him get up to speed, but the teenager admits that he still needs to do a lot of work when it comes to putting together the perfect race weekend.

Kimi Antonelli admits he still has ‘a lot of work to do’ ahead of making his F1 debut

Mercedes are under no illusions that Antonelli is unlikely to jump straight into their car next year and begin challenging for pole positions and victories.

Deliberately giving him a year to adapt before the playing field is somewhat evened by a new set of regulations in 2026 is a sensible idea.

READ MORE: Who is 2025 Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli? Everything to know

When asked how he feels about his imminent promotion, Antonelli said: “I feel ready for F1. In terms of speed, I don’t think it will be a problem and the only thing where there will be a lot of work to do will be understanding how to manage the weekend in the best possible way and also learning all the procedures.

“So, there will be a lot of things to learn but I feel ready.”

Antonelli has benefitted from advice from Hamilton already this season and will be leaning on his mechanics and engineers heavily next year.

Hamilton’s race engineer Pete Bonnington is staying at Mercedes to work alongside Antonelli and he will have swathes of information at his disposal to help the teenager in any situation.

What Hamilton did to Antonelli in Singapore that he ‘didn’t expect’ to happen

Mick Schumacher and Frederik Vesti are technically Mercedes’s test and reserve drivers this year and should be available if the team ever need to replace Hamilton or Russell at a moment’s notice.

However, Antonelli is regularly at races as well, either learning more about the team or as part of the Formula 2 paddock where he’s competing this season.

Antonelli admitted Hamilton gave him more advice than he expected during the Singapore Grand Prix alongside his duties in the car.

That treatment is going to come to an end soon though, and Russell may not be as motivated to help the 18-year-old going forward, given they could end up competing for just one available seat in the team.