Former Mercedes Champion Cautions Team About 'Bold' Andrea Kimi Antonelli Signing

Former Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg, who raced for Mercedes alongside Lewis Hamilton, has called team principal Toto Wolff's decision to sign F2 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli a "bold move."

Rosberg is aware of the performance the 18-year-old driver can produce since he was part of his karting academy in 2019. Thus, he has cautioned Mercedes that Kimi Antonelli will make mistakes but remains confident that the team will manage the situation well.

Wolff was eager to have the young talent on board after the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton announced his exit in early 2024 to join Ferrari this season.

Despite several drivers being available with F1 experience, including Mick Schumacher and Carlos Sainz, Mercedes announced in Monza that Kimi Antonelli would be driving alongside George Russell in 2025.

Rosberg, who retired after winning his maiden F1 championship in 2016, revealed that Kimi Antonelli was an "impressive talent" in his academy. However, he pointed out that F1 can be a "ruthless" sport for rookies but has faith that Mercedes will encourage him to do better despite the high possibility of Kimi Antonelli making mistakes. Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, as quoted by RacingNews365, he said:

"I know Kimi very well, he was racing in my karting academy in 2019, and I had already seen at that age what an impressive talent he was.

"It's a bold move on Toto's part, but you can't ignore the potential this kid has.

"He will certainly make mistakes in 2025, but I know Mercedes will back him up well, but he has a bright future ahead of him and I am excited to see how he adapts to F1.

"The early seasons are full of challenges, and having someone experienced to guide you can make a real difference.

"I hope the rookies coming in this year have solid support systems around them, because F1 can be ruthless and, after a few bad performances, things can change quickly for them."

Considering Kimi Antonelli's racing prowess, Wolff recently revealed that he had the fear of letting the young driver slip away while Hamilton was still contracted to Mercedes and thus, expedited his signing last year after the Briton announced his exit. The team boss explained:

"It was a curve ball thrown at us, and it still feels weird that he's gonna wear Ferrari overalls and drive the red car.

"It's just a bit surreal. But we had this 17-year-old in the pipeline [Kimi Antonelli].

"I didn't want to miss out on him, like I did with Max [Verstappen] back in the day, [when] I didn't have a car [for him], so that is all falling into place.

"And I can kind of get where he's coming from, because we weren't successful. Our car was not quick enough, certainly he had a mega offer on the table, [and] every Formula 1 driver wants to drive a Ferrari."