When Lewis Hamilton exited Mercedes for Ferrari last season, it wasn't immediately clear who would take his place, but the team clearly had their ideal heir.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli would be skipping F3 and taking on Formula 2 in 2024 at 17 years old. The Italian driver carried a record of winning titles in just about everything he took on.
So Mercedes gave it some time and watched as their junior team driver tried to prove his worth in order to take the final step to F1. Despite some struggles in F2, on August 31, Antonelli was confirmed to be the man for the job.
Antonelli skipped some of the traditional routes on his way there, and went right to one of F1's premiere teams, something that very rarely happens. Was it a mistake?
Potential, but inconsistency for Kimi Antonelli
Antonelli's immediate ascent to Mercedes meant Toto Wolff and company had to have some patience in their new driver.
His first six races exhibited exactly what the team would want, especially from a Mercedes team that was not competing for a title.
Antonelli scored points in five of his first six race weekends, including a P4 on debut, and a sprint pole in Miami. He had 48 points in those six efforts. He was being lauded for taking on a massive spot and performing, even if it was a bit of a ways off teammate George Russell -- no matter, no one was expecting him to beat the team leader.
But since then, Antonelli has been in hell, save for one weekend. He DNFed in Imola (power issue), he finished P18 in Monaco, and then DNFed in Spain.
That set of misery was wiped away by his first career podium in Montreal as part of a 1-3 for Mercedes. It seemed like Antonelli's trajectory was going even more upwards.
But Antonelli has not put a point on the board since. He plowed into the back of Max Verstappen (somehow avoiding his wrath) in Austria. At Silverstone, he qualified P10 and then in wet conditions, Isack Hadjar smashed into his car, causing damage that led to another DNF.
It all came to a head for Antonelli this past weekend. He qualified dead last for the sprint after spinning into the gravel in SQ1. He then couldn't get out of the first session for grand prix qualifying either, starting 18th and finishing 16th.
The pressure has mounted for Kimi Antonelli
Kimi Antonelli emotional and in tears in the media pen after his Q1 exit, which followed his SQ1 elimination on Friday. "Yeah, I'm okay" says young Kimi at the end of the interview
— EntranceF1 | Own Every Moment (@entrancef1) July 27, 2025
💬 Tough to watch. What would you say to Kimi right now? 👇#f1 #formula1 #f12025 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/6s9BsRq6vg
How much Antonelli's struggles have gotten to him became evident when he reached the media pen after sprint qualifying last weekend, clearly feeling quite emotional.
I will absolutely not be criticizing an 18-year-old for feeling this way in such a position with so much pressure on his back.
You very well hope that this is a situation where he can learn, grow and put that toward the achievement that Mercedes believes he can reach some day.
But what comes to mind after this stretch of results is -- was this situation he was put into one that is unfair to him? Was Toto Wolff misguided in sending him straight to this team that won eight-straight titles only a few years ago and expects to get back there in 2026?
Mercedes should've considered another avenue
Putting a top talent right on a major team right away is largely unprecedented, and only really happened due to wide variety of circumstances.
Some of the biggest names to come out of F2 didn't face such pressure right away. Max Verstappen started off a Red Bull's B team. Charles Leclerc had a year at Sauber. George Russell was at Williams for probably too many seasons. And Lando Norris, while going right to McLaren, joined them with much lower expected results as the team rebuilt.
While some blame can be placed on Mercedes for doing this, it seemed it was this or nothing. Williams was the likely home for an inexperienced junior, but they already had a stacked lineup of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon.
The other Mercedes-powered teams didn't really have a spot -- Aston Martin's lineup is stuck in for the foreseeable future, as is McLaren's.
Personally, I thought taking Sainz on at Mercedes could've made for an incredible lineup that would've allowed for Antonelli to be a clear choice for James Vowles at Williams, but Williams took on Sainz a month before Antonelli was announced, signaling that Mercedes likely didn't have interest in the ex-Ferrari driver.
The verdict
Do I think Antonelli was a poor choice for Mercedes? No. But do I think the team is risking damaging their prized asset with the situation they've placed him in? Absolutely.
He can very well learn from his teammate, who is outperforming the car constantly and has beaten him 13-0 in all grands prix. But it also could do a number on his confidence.
People forget that Antonelli didn't particularly perform well in F2. He only won twice and finished sixth in the championship. It's not like he came in to F1 on fire at a Leclerc/Russell level.
The team is definitely going to give Antonelli that room to grow through at least 2026. But will it serve to nurture him to reach the level of greatness that has been expected of him since he was 13? The coming months will give us some clear signs.