There has been immense hype around Andrea Kimi Antonelli as he steps up to fill the massive shoes of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Team Principal Toto Wolff has even hailed him as the ‘next Max Verstappen’. However, his prophecy could be a bit far-fetched as the 18-year-old Italian hasn’t shown anything promising as of yet at the pinnacle of motorsport.
In his maiden FP1 appearance for Mercedes in Italy last year, Antonelli set some quick laps in the initial minutes of the session before having a 45G crash at the Parabolica corner. While many, including Wolff, praised that he had some extremely fast speeds during those few laps, the current perception of Antonelli is heavily based on the hype around his talent.
Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff is expecting a year of ups and downs for Kimi Antonelli in 2025
What do you think Kimi’s best result will be this year? pic.twitter.com/ztpGmMbuuD
— Crash.net – Formula 1 (@CRASH_NET_F1) January 10, 2025
And even if he is that talented, he needs to prove his mettle in F1. That’s what former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya had to say in a recent interview. The Colombian also mentioned that Mercedes may also be having a contingency plan of replacing Antonelli — if he fails to deliver as per their expectations — with none other than Valtteri Bottas.
“If he [Antonelli] doesn’t deliver, it’s difficult. My reading is that Mercedes wants to cover itself with [Valtteri] Bottas. He is the safety net in case it doesn’t work with Antonelli and he knows that,” Montoya said as quoted by Formule1.nl.
Bottas penned a deal to return to the Brackley-based outfit in a reserve role in December. This was a significant homecoming moment for Bottas to return to his former team after his under-par stint with Sauber and a failure to secure a full-time seat for 2025.
Having won 10 Grands Prix for Mercedes and helping them win five consecutive Constructors’ titles from 2017 to 2021, Bottas would certainly perform if given the chance again in a top team seat. The Silver Arrows also trust him and his experience could be more than handy to salvage the situation if Antonelli crumbles under pressure in his rookie season.
Bottas’ full circle with Mercedes
Bottas’ promotion to Mercedes in 2017 was a golden chance for him to show his class at a championship-winning team and he did not disappoint. Being Hamilton’s teammate for five seasons, he always backed up the Briton to rake in all the success for the Brackley outfit.
In 2021, Bottas’ form withered away to some extent, which wasn’t acceptable to the team, so he had to bite the bullet and pave the way for a bustling youngster in George Russell. This kickstarted the decline phase in the #77 driver’s career, as he had to take a seat at the Alfa Romeo-Sauber team in 2022.
Despite a somewhat decent maiden season with the Swiss outfit, Bottas’ career graph took a turn for the worse, directly proportional to Sauber’s form on track. The team essentially became a backmarker in 2024, as the only saving grace for the 10-time Grand Prix winner’s form was that he was outperforming his teammate Zhou Guanyu.
Yet, Bottas failed to score a single point last season while Zhou did so. Nevertheless, Sauber decided to let go of both drivers to have a fresh driver pairing for 2025 and beyond with their Audi rebrand on the horizon.
Currently, it seems like Bottas’ F1 career is over, but an experienced Grand Prix winner like him could be handy for any team. And if that team is Mercedes, there won’t be a better redemption moment for the Finnish driver.
