Helmut Marko warns George Russell to beware of « danger » Kimi Antonelli
George Russell has been warned that his new Mercedes teammate, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, could be a "danger".
The Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko, believes that Andrea Kimi Antonelli can pose a danger to his new teammate at Mercedes, George Russell, this season.
Mercedes has chosen to promote Kimi Antonelli as the replacement for the seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton starting in 2025, even though the young Italian driver has completed only one season in Formula 2.
At 18 years old, the Italian, considered a future F1 star, made headlines during his debut testing for Mercedes at the Italian Grand Prix last year when he crashed in the early stages of the session.
A danger for George Russell?
Although George Russell gained an advantage over his outgoing teammate Lewis Hamilton in 2024, Helmut Marko believes that Kimi Antonelli has the speed necessary to challenge the Briton during his rookie season.
« We saw it [Antonelli’s talent] at Monza, even if I don’t understand why they put him in the car on this circuit, » said the 81-year-old Austrian to Sport.de. « He was very fast during his first three laps, but on the fourth, he went into the barriers. I think that if he uses his skills well, which he undeniably possesses, he can be a threat to Russell. »
Kimi Antonelli is seen as Mercedes’ answer to Max Verstappen, who made a notable entry into F1 at the age of 17. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had unsuccessfully tried to recruit Max Verstappen, who ultimately chose Red Bull due to the immediate opportunity of a seat with their sister team.
A comparison with Max Verstappen
Toto Wolff acknowledged that the decision to promote Kimi Antonelli was partly motivated by the desire not to miss out on him.
Helmut Marko made a comparison between Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen by highlighting the risk taken by Mercedes in integrating him directly into the main team.
« Antonelli is a risk, but we also took this risk with Verstappen in the past, » he explained. « Max was very young when he got into this car. But in his case, he wasn’t in a top team [he started with Red Bull’s sister team], so he had less pressure. »
Toto Wolff has several times tried to moderate expectations around the F1 debut of Kimi Antonelli. “If you expect him to be on pole position in Melbourne, win the race, and immediately fight for the championship, then the risk is high, because that’s not going to happen,” Toto Wolff told Auto Motor und Sport.
« If we adopt the approach that this boy is 18 years old, is very talented, but of course must first progress and will make mistakes, then the risk is limited. That’s why we’re doing it. We see 2025 as a transition year and want to prepare him for 2026. »
