Toto Wolff has repeatedly confirmed he never had any doubts about his decision. And the track, at least in these early races, is proving the Mercedes Team Principal right in choosing Kimi Antonelli as Lewis Hamilton’s successor.
The Italian driver, making his Formula 1 debut, is winning over even the most skeptical with consistently strong performances. He has scored thirty points after the first three races of the season—ten more than Charles Leclerc and even double the tally of the seven-time world champion whose seat he took.
This outcome was far from certain before the season began, especially considering Kimi Antonelli’s limited experience with F1 cars and the Monza mistake that had sparked plenty of debate. Yet car number 12 has shown how much work was put in over the winter, confirming the promise he showed since his karting days.
But there’s another advantage
Having Kimi Antonelli alongside George Russell also gives Mercedes another edge over its rivals. In 2025, the FIA has increased to four (two per car) the number of times a team must field a rookie driver—defined as one with fewer than two F1 races—in free practice sessions.
This rule affects teams’ work programs and, in some cases, can impact the main drivers who are temporarily benched. In this context, Antonelli’s presence is helpful for Mercedes, as the Italian has already “checked off” two of the four rookie slots. In FP1 sessions in Australia and China, he had fewer than two F1 races under his belt and thus fully qualified as a rookie.
With Frederik Vesti already confirmed for the first free practice session in Bahrain, the Brackley team will now only need to run a young driver on one more occasion. That’s an advantage not to be overlooked in a long season like the one that’s just begun—especially one that, despite what’s been seen so far, has all the ingredients to be fiercely contested.
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