One of the most hyped rookie drivers heading into the 2025 Formula 1 season was Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who joined Mercedes having replaced Lewis Hamilton and been billed as the future of the team.
Antonelli’s results have been impressive so far for a rookie, with one pole during the Miami GP Sprint and his first podium at the Canadian Grand Prix defining the first half of his season.
The 18-year-old has been candid about struggling with the difficult Pirelli tyres, which can be tough to get on top of due to their short working window.
Mercedes is also still dealing with overheating problems with its 2025 challenger, although Wolff has urged engineers to stop using it as an excuse and come up with a solution.
Aside from Mercedes’ problems holding back Antonelli, there is one stat that has emerged in the first half of the season that puts him on par with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in their rookie years.
Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty ImagesKimi Antonelli close to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri rookie stat
Antonelli has scored less than half of the points scored by teammate George Russell in 2025 so far, but his average is not far off what other drivers have achieved in their rookie season.
Lando Norris scored the same in his rookie season up against Carlos Sainz at McLaren, with 22 points versus Sainz’s 48 at the halfway point.
Oscar Piastri also only scored 27 points compared to 60 points for Lando Norris in 2023, which is 45% of his points total.
The Mercedes driver currently has 63 points compared to Russell’s 147, which puts him on at least 43% of the Briton’s total.
Will Andrea Kimi Antonelli have Max Verstappen as his teammate in the future?
Much has been said about Verstappen and a potential move to Mercedes for the Dutchman, but there could be one impact if he does decide to leave Red Bull.
Antonelli is unlikely to be the driver who gets replaced by Mercedes if they do decide to go with Verstappen, with Russell likely to be dropped.
Mercedes personnel think it would be ‘mayhem’ if both Verstappen and Russell were in the same team, so it’s likely he would be paired with Antonelli.
Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Verstappen is treating Antonelli like a teammate already, after seeing how he reacted to his race-ending crash in Austria.