At the Italian GP, Mercedes finally made the highly anticipated announcement of confirming Andrea Kimi Antonelli for 2025. Kimi Raikkonen, who was present in the Monza paddock last weekend when the Silver Arrows announced Antonelli, shared his thoughts about what he makes of his namesake.
In an exclusive interview with Formula1.com, Raikkonen explained how “it’s much easier” to get into F1 now compared to when he began his career. He made these remarks while explaining why he has no doubt that Antonelli would be ready for F1 when he steps into Mercedes’ car next season.
The Finn stated how the simulators have become much more prevalent in the sport today — something that will help the Silver Arrows to groom the Italian prodigy.
“When I started, there was no simulator, you [just] jumped in and got going! I think it’s much easier [to move up to F1], in many ways, now. You can do a lot of testing, obviously, and get ready“, Raikkonen said.
Comparison of laps between Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli during FP1 at Monza.
[@KimiAntonelliFR]pic.twitter.com/DSKfPRwXUy
— F1_MercHub (@F1MercHub) September 5, 2024
Antonelli’s impeccable junior career record speaks volumes about the hype surrounding the 18-year-old before his full-time F1 debut. Apparently, the Italian has experienced a similar career trajectory to Raikkonen.
Before Raikkonen’s debut F1 race at the 2001 Australian GP for Sauber, he had only 23 car races worth of experience under his belt. While Antonelli has raced a lot more races, he also made a big jump from Formula Regional and F4 to F2 in 2024. Moreover, Mercedes have fast-tracked the 18-year-old to their F1 team for 2025, despite his mixed bag of a season in F2 so far.
