Martin Brundle says Kimi Antonelli is ‘luckiest driver ever’ after Monza crash

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It is extremely rare for a young talented driver to be handed their Formula 1 debut in a top team on the grid.

People would have to go back to Lewis Hamilton in 2007 when he made his F1 debut with McLaren in what is widely regarded as one of the best rookie seasons in history.

In 2024, Oliver Bearman stepped in for Carlos Sainz at Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix where he finished seventh. The Brit will join the grid full time next season with Haas, with more newcomers expected to follow Bearman and Jack Doohan to F1 in 2025.

One of those drivers was confirmed on Saturday morning as Andrea Kimi Antonelli, as the Italian will drive for Mercedes as Hamilton’s replacement next season, partnering George Russell.

Fan reaction to Antonelli’s signing has been full of praise as the Italian becomes the youngest driver on the grid in 2025 at 18 years old. Team principal Toto Wolff says he fancies the risk with Antonelli after he missed out on Max Verstappen.

Martin Brundle says Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the ‘luckiest young driver’ after his Monza crash

Speaking before qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix on Sky Sports F1, Martin Brundle claimed that Antonelli was the ‘luckiest’ young driver he’d ever seen.

The 18-year-old was handed his first appearance on an F1 weekend in FP1 driving Russell’s car, but it did not go as everyone anticipated.

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Coming through Parabolica, Antonelli had a 52G crash after just 10 minutes of the session. Despite ending his session early, Wolff and Mercedes were fully supportive as Antonelli returned to the garage.

Mercedes seemed almost unbothered by the teenager destroying their car, and this is why Brundle believes he is the ‘luckiest driver.’

He said: “He’s the luckiest young driver I’ve ever known because he’s clearly a very talented young man as we saw in his karting days. But he crashed the car and Toto’s like ‘Did you see how fast he was before he crashed?’

“I’m trying to think back talking to Ken Tyrrell or Ron Dennis about that!”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli is in for the long run with Mercedes

Wolff would be right with his statement as Antonelli was immediately pushing and on the pace in FP1.

Antonelli is highly rated by Mercedes and it is not hard to see why. The 18-year-old made the jump to F2 from FRECA last season after winning the title.

His accident in FP1 at Monza would certainly give Antonelli’s confidence a knock, but Mercedes have his full support as they look to develop the Italian.

It seems that Antonelli is in for the long term with Mercedes, and he will be one to keep a firm eye on over the next few months.