Kimi Antonelli has suggested that Mercedes might not need to rip up the rulebook next year after making an important discovery. The teenager is gearing up to replace Lewis Hamilton when the latter jumps ship to Ferrari next season.
Antonelli will have big shoes to fill but he believes the transition will not be too much of an issue for Mercedes. The data suggests he drives in a similar style to Hamilton, meaning his engineers will not need to make drastic set-up changes next year.
“I didn’t expect that, he’s very nice and talks to me a lot,” Antonelli told Sky Sport Italy while discussing the prospect of replacing Hamilton. “Looking at the data, his driving style seems similar to mine. I was in Singapore and listening to him talk to the engineers. I learned a lot.”
Antonelli still has a lot to learn at just 18 years of age and is already taking steps to familiarise himself with the way things work at Mercedes.
“What I will have to get used to is hearing all the engineers on headphones, because I am one who talks very little,” he added. “But if they talk, it is to give useful information. I will have to learn the procedures well.
“If you touch the wrong button, it is a mess. I will be getting a steering wheel seat at home soon to learn the starts and the various procedures, also because you have to know where each button is without having to look.”
The young Italian has already taken part in an extensive testing programme with Mercedes and made his FP1 debut at Monza earlier this year. It did not go entirely to plan, though, with Antonelli crashing into the wall in the early part of the session.
“In private testing, the great speed with which I got to the limit, I struggled at first with the race pace but, after a test in Spa, they saw a clear step forward and were convinced,” he said.
“Two days later came the call that they were taking me for 2025. Today in F1, you have a lot of data to look at, there is live telemetry and they can tell you what to do. However, they let me do a lot.
“I had a great test at Spa where I learned how to anticipate tyre degradation. I feel ready for F1. At the speed level I will have no problems. I will have to adapt to the procedures.”
