Will Buxton says the ‘worst thing’ has now happened to Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes

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Friday morning at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza will arguably be the most important day in Kimi Antonelli’s racing career.

It speaks volumes about how much expectation there is on Kimi Antonelli’s shoulders that another driver is making their Formula 1 debut this weekend and the Mercedes youngster is still the main focus of the world’s media.

Albeit, journalists from South America – and particularly Argentina – will be studying Franco Colapinto’s every move this weekend as he enters his first Grand Prix with Williams after replacing Logan Sargeant.

However, the young Italian will be stepping into George Russell’s car for FP1 on Friday and after months of hearing about Antonelli’s behind-closed-doors testing performances, everyone gets to witness just how he matches up against seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

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

Speaking on Formula 1’s Pre Race Show, journalist Will Buxton and commentator Alex Jacques were previewing the 18-year-old’s hour-long practice session and the expectations for him in the future.

Antonelli is expected to be Russell’s teammate next year and an announcement could come at any moment.

At the start of the year, it appeared as though the pressure might be off given Mercedes were struggling to challenge for podium finishes.

Now, Toto Wolff’s team are regular race winners and went into the summer break looking like the form team.

It means Antonelli may be expected to challenge the likes of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris much sooner than many would have anticipated.

Mercedes’s improvement in 2024 could be the ‘worst thing’ for Kimi Antonelli

Talking about Antonelli’s future at Mercedes, Buxton said: “The worst thing that could possibly have happened to Kimi Antonelli is Mercedes have suddenly figured out their car because when that car was doing nothing, you can bring him in.

“And this is what we were saying earlier on in the season, even pre-season testing, you bring him into a car with zero expectations, you’re not thinking about race victories, great.

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

“You’ve got a year to bed him in before the rules reset in 2026 and then you launch him for a title.

“Putting him into a race-winning car, it’s a whole different ball game.”

Jacques added: “He’s got to do a [Jacques] Villeneuve, he’s got to do a Hamilton, he’s got to be that quick and that’s why we’re all excited because if he is, what a story that’s going to be.”

Kimi Antonelli’s Formula 1 number may have already been revealed

It’s a very exciting time for Antonelli although his fastest time during FP1 at Monza might not be completely representative of how fast he is compared to Hamilton and his future F1 rivals.

Teams tend to put their young drivers on exploratory programs so that they can provide important data to the team, rather than allowing them to do an hour of qualifying laps.

Antonelli will use an unusual number for a youngster on Friday morning, with rookies typically given numbers around the 30s and 40s for their one-off appearances.

Robert Shwartzman bucked that trend at Zandvoort during his one-hour session in Zandvoort and Antonelli has done the same.

Unlike the Russian driver, Antonelli’s number is expected to be seen an awful lot more on the grid after this weekend.