Kimi Raikkonen shares what’s ‘great’ about Mercedes signing his namesake Antonelli to F1 seat

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Kimi Raikkonen made his return to the Formula 1 paddock at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

The Finn enjoyed an illustrious career in F1, driving with the likes of Sauber, McLaren and Ferrari – with whom Raikkonen also won the 2007 drivers’ championship.

After returning to the sport with Lotus in 2012, Raikkonen went back to Ferrari in 2014 before going full circle and returning to the Sauber family in 2019 under the Alfa Romeo name.

Raikkonen retired from F1 in 2021 having achieved 21 wins, 103 podiums and one drivers’ championship across 19 seasons. Yet the Finn has rarely been seen in the F1 paddock since hanging up his racing helmet.

But Raikkonen was spotted in the paddock for the first time in three years at Monza after visiting the Sauber garage and reuniting with team manager Mattia Binotto, whom he worked under at Ferrari.

The 44-year-old was not the only Kimi to make an appearance at the Italian Grand Prix, either. Another Kimi was seen behind the wheel of an F1 car in the form of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who made his first appearance in an FP1 session with Mercedes.

Kimi Raikkonen gives his verdict on his namesake Antonelli joining Mercedes in 2025

Mercedes also announced at the Italian Grand Prix weekend that the 18-year-old will be racing for the team next year in place of Lewis Hamilton, partnering George Russell.

Now, speaking to the official F1 website, Raikkonen has given his verdict on Antonelli joining the 2025 grid for the Silver Arrows.

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Antonelli will become the youngest driver on the 2025 grid as he joins Oliver Bearman and Jack Doohan as rookies in F1, who will be racing for Haas and Alpine respectively.

And it’s these young drivers who Raikkonen thinks is ‘good for the sport’ as more rookies are anticipated to join Antonelli, Bearman and Doohan in F1 in 2025.

When asked what he thought about Mercedes’ signing of Antonelli to replace Hamilton, Raikkonen said: “Yeah, I heard! When we came here, somebody said that they announced it.

“It’s great. A lot of new faces, I think, coming next year, a lot of new drivers that have been signed to F1. It’s good for the sport, and it’s also great to have an Italian in the championship. It’s good for everybody, I think.”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli crashed in his first FP1 outing for Mercedes at Monza

Antonelli made his F1 weekend debut at the Italian Grand Prix as he drove his future teammate Russell’s car in FP1, but the session did not go as many expected.

On only his second flying lap, Antonelli suffered a huge shunt into the barriers at Parabolica as he lost the back end, destroying the car and ending his session abruptly.

Antonelli’s confidence will have no doubt taken a slight knock following the accident. But Mercedes seemed to be unbothered by the ordeal, so much so that the Italian was announced as a full-time 2025 race driver for the Silver Arrows the next day.

It is clear to see how highly Mercedes rate Antonelli as they have brought him at the age of 18; a very rare occurrence in F1. The young Italian will certainly be one to look out for in the near future.