Kimi Antonelli told he was ‘fortunate’ not to sign for Ferrari as Mercedes can give him one luxury

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Mercedes gem Andrea Kimi Antonelli carries the hopes of a nation as Italy’s only F1 driver, and many Italians dream of seeing the Bologna boy drive for Ferrari one day.

The Scuderia are the pride of Italy as their de facto national team. But the Maranello natives have not employed an Italian race driver since Giancarlo Fisichella stood in for Brazil’s Felipe Massa in 2009. Ivan Capelli in 1992 is the most recent Italian to claim a full-time Ferrari seat.

Antonelli grew up within one hour of Maranello, and Ferrari even supported Tony Kart while he raced for the go-karting outfit. Yet Mercedes beat Ferrari to signing Antonelli in his youth, as the Scuderia had next to no contact with the Italian before the Silver Arrows reached out.

Mercedes’ decision to sign Antonelli aged only 12 years old and whilst competing in go-karts back in 2019 set the foundations for his rapid rise that reached Formula 1 in 2025. Mercedes trusted Antonelli to replace Lewis Hamilton after the seven-time F1 champion joined Ferrari.

Kimi Antonelli was ‘fortunate’ not to debut in F1 with Ferrari, as Mercedes let him make mistakes

Antonelli enjoyed a record-breaking rookie F1 season with Mercedes in 2025 that saw him set new records as the youngest driver to lead a Grand Prix and to set the fastest lap. Also, Antonelli became the youngest-ever F1 polesitter after taking pole for the Sprint in Miami.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli

But Arturo Merzario believes Antonelli was “fortunate” to make his F1 debut with Mercedes rather than Ferrari. He feels the Silver Arrows let the 19-year-old make mistakes – and “too many” – that the Scuderia would not have been able to during their troubled term in 2025.

“He was fortunate enough to land at a team outside of Italy,” former Ferrari driver Merzario told AutoMoto.it. “Imagine if he had been hired by Ferrari last year, or this year?

“And what’s more, he’s tied himself to a great brand in Mercedes. They’re giving him the right amount of time to improve [and] to learn, even through mistakes. Although in my opinion, he’s already made too many mistakes.

“He shouldn’t overdo it. He’s already found his place as a starter in a team with a glorious past. He should be happy about that, regardless of the results.”

Kimi Antonelli made two major mistakes in 2025 by crashing in Monaco and Austria

Antonelli ended his rookie F1 season strongly with two podiums in the final four rounds, as well as a Sprint podium in Brazil. The Bologna boy bagged P2 in the F1 Sprint and the Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, before he climbed from P17 on the grid to P3 in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

McLaren’s double disqualification from the Las Vegas GP promoted Antonelli into third place after he finished the race in fifth place. Antonelli dropped behind Oscar Piastri in the original finishing order as he merited a five-second time penalty after moving before the start signal.

A much bigger mistake came when Antonelli crashed into Max Verstappen on the first lap of the Austrian Grand Prix, having misjudged his braking point for Turn 3. It would mark one of his four retirements in 2025, but the only retirement that the Italian was solely to blame for.

Antonelli’s other DNFs during 2025 were due to a throttle failure at Imola, an engine failure in Spain and being taken out by fellow F1 rookie Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls in Britain. But Antonelli crashed during Q1 in Monaco, as well, after clipping the inside barrier at Turn 10.