Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a young Italian driver, made his Formula 1 debut in FP1 during the Italian Grand Prix in Monza last Friday. The same weekend Mercedes also announced that the 18-year-old talent will race for them in 2025. The announcement was more than expected but still raised concerns, especially after Antonelli’s crash during the debut-making practice session.

Former Haas F1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner wrote down his thoughts in personal column for F1.com.

“It felt like it had been coming – so it wasn’t a complete surprise to see Mercedes announce their protégé Kimi Antonelli would race for them in 2025,” Steiner adressed.

“He has been in the Mercedes camp for a long time and a lot of effort has been made to get him ready for F1 – including several private F1 tests and hundreds of hours in the simulator.

“The opportunity came up quicker than perhaps he wished for [he skipped F3 to race in F2 this season]. It’s maybe a year earlier than expected but the opportunity is there and he has to take it.”

Steiner expressed that at the same time, he understands but also doesn’t get Mercedes Team Principal, Toto Wolff’s, decision.

“I can understand Toto Wolff’s motivation – it’s like ‘hey, let’s try to do it and throw him into the cold water and see how he swims’.

“Mercedes are very good at managing expectations and will do their best to protect him from the expectation. They have trained him for a long time. He was made ready for this.

“Toto could have waited another year and put Carlos Sainz in for one year – but he wanted Kimi in there because he thinks he’s ready," he concluded.