Jenson Button warns teams against recruiting drivers who are too young
Jenson Button warns teams against putting pressure on young drivers like Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman. Mercedes and Haas must be cautious in their decisions for 2025. The driver reflects on his own Formula 1 experience.
With the rumors surrounding Kimi Antonelli’s future in Formula 1 in 2025 at Mercedes, Jenson Button is warning teams about the danger of putting too much pressure on young drivers. A warning that is also aimed at the Haas team after recruiting Oliver Bearman.
A well-known situation for the pilot
Jenson Button, a British driver now engaged in Endurance, was himself a victim of this situation in his early days in motorsport. Formula 1 World Champion in 2008, he became the youngest British driver to be involved in Formula 1 in 2000 when he joined the Williams team at just 20 years old. A recruitment that had already caused a stir at the time.
« I remember, even Martin Brundle said, ‘He is too young for this,'” the driver said about his arrival in F1. « But it was fair to say that I was very young, I had almost no training because the engines were constantly exploding,” he said.
Today, the former world champion seems to share an almost similar opinion when discussing the future of Ollie Bearman and Kimi Antonelli. With constant pressure in Formula 1 and a need for performance, Jenson Button warns teams against these transfers. “I don’t think it was too early. You have to seize all opportunities, especially at 17, 18, or 19 years old. But teams have to think about the impact on a young driver. If it works, great, but with the pressure of this sport, it can also ruin a career.”
Already too late for Ollie Bearman
As Button’s comments were heard this week, driver Ollie Bearman has already found a place at Haas for 2025. A transfer that had been confirmed recently and will allow him to leave Formula 2 at just 19 years old.
On his side, Toto Wolff, director of the Mercedes team, must choose who will replace Lewis Hamilton alongside George Russell in 2025. A position that has long been seen as belonging to Kimi Antonelli. Earlier in the year, the FIA had changed the Formula 1 regulations, allowing drivers aged 17 to join the grid under certain conditions. This is the case for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, born in 2005.
However, the performances of the young Italian driver do not seem to be at their highest this year in Formula 2, despite a victory at Silverstone. F2 is very tough this year. Antonelli and Bearman are struggling with the car, and Antonelli is not satisfied with his driving and race pace. But, seeing him at Silverstone, two seconds faster than the others, we see his talent and potential. Winning this race lifted his burden, Toto Wolff commented after the Grand Prix.
Jenson Button, who took the opportunity to encourage drivers to seize these opportunities, also emphasized the importance for teams to properly manage their talents. “You can’t say no!” confirmed Button regarding a place in Formula 1. “But teams, I think they really have to think about what they are doing to a driver in his career at that age.”
If it goes well [for Antonelli], all the better, but with the pressures that this sport brings, it can also destroy a driver’s career. So there is a real balance to find and teams must be careful with that.
According to the British driver, a too rapid promotion in the main discipline could compromise a young driver’s career if he fails to immediately meet the team’s expectations.
