Kimi Antonelli’s debut for Mercedes in 2025 is already receiving a lot of anticipation, with many expecting him to hit the ground running alongside George Russell. However, Eddie Jordan feels that the Brackley outfit have made a mistake in hiring the Italian prodigy and should have signed Carlos Sainz instead.
On the Formula for Success podcast, the former F1 team owner highlighted that even if they may be saving a lot in paying Antonelli relative to Hamilton’s mammoth $55 million salary, it is a big risk for the team from the constructors’ title perspective.
“You say it’s an investment. David, just cast your mind, it probably saved them $50 million on the current salary with Lewis Hamilton.”
“It’s still for me, a surprise. I still believe they should have gone for Carlos Sainz. I still believe that Mercedes if they were desperately keen to win the Constructors’ championship, they have George and they needed somebody other than Kimi”, Jordan added.
Big boots to fill.
Kimi Antonelli follows in the footsteps of Formula 1 royalty at Mercedes pic.twitter.com/42k2JY1kjA
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 31, 2024
The Irishman justified his preference for Sainz by stating that it would be incredibly difficult for Antonelli to help Mercedes win the Constructors’ title in his rookie season if they have a quick enough car. Having someone like Sainz alongside Russell instead could have bolstered their driver lineup with two proven race-winners.
While Antonelli is a highly-rated talent, it is a massive risk for Mercedes to expect him to match Russell right from the word go. Nevertheless, they have placed their bets on the 18-year-old for the long term.
Even several experts and pundits have backed the Italian to do well in F1, looking at his stellar junior career record so far. His F2 campaign this year hasn’t been as notable amid his team Prema’s struggles with their car and a highly competitive grid.
F2 juniors have done well in F1 recently
Lately, many rookies like Oliver Bearman have got the limelight in F1, with the Ferrari junior getting multiple one-off Grand Prix appearances. Bearman has done exceedingly well in those handful of F1 races this season, even scoring points for both Haas and Ferrari.
However, the 19-year-old’s F2 campaign has had nothing much to talk about with a few race wins and podium finishes. He is way off the championship lead in P14 with just 60 points to his name. This points out how it isn’t necessary for drivers to do well in F2 as they could still adapt to the high demands in F1 and produce excellent results.
Ollie Bearman and Kimi Antonelli will drive in FP1 for Ferrari and Mercedes at the Mexican GP
The future of F1 is ready to put on a showcase pic.twitter.com/kN5XtI7U3p
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) October 23, 2024
The struggle-filled F1 stints of past F2 champions and top-five finishers like Nyck de Vries, Mick Schumacher, Nicholas Latifi, and Nikita Mazepin further underscore this trend. Naturally, this could also become true for Bearman and Antonelli who will debut as full-time drivers in F1 next season.
While Jordan predicted that Antonelli may struggle to match an established driver like Russell as a rookie, he is also ready to admit that he would be wrong about the Italian if he does well for Mercedes in 2025.
