Andrea Kimi Antonelli hasn’t been the second coming of Max Verstappen as many expected in his rookie season of F1, and Jolyon Palmer has pinpointed the reason why the young Italian has suffered at the wheel of the Mercedes W16.
After a promising start to the 2025 season with a pole in the Miami Sprint and a podium in Montreal, results have started to fade away for the 18-year-old, and mistakes have become a regular occurrence.
He has registered just three points since his third-place finish in June and is one of three drivers to lead the grid with four retirements throughout the campaign.
Kimi Antonelli is under an increasing amount of pressure at Mercedes, who could reportedly swap him out for more consistent talent at any given opportunity.
However, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer believes Antonelli’s season would be seen as a much more impressive debut in the sport if he had a rookie teammate alongside him instead of the overachieving George Russell.
READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats
Kimi Antonelli’s rookie season with Mercedes would have been ‘amazing’ if he also had a rookie teammate
Speaking on an episode of the F1 Nation podcast, Palmer and journalist Tom Clarkson were discussing Antonelli’s rookie season before they got onto the topic of Verstappen.
“Why were we necessarily thinking an 18-year-old rookie was gonna come in and do better than he’s doing? Because of the hype,” Palmer said.
Clarkson replied, “Two words: Max Verstappen. Max Verstappen has distorted what we expect of teenagers now.”
The now four-time world champion honed his craft at Toro Rosso for a season and a half before the leadership at Red Bull decided he was ready for a shot in the main team alongside Daniel Ricciardo.
Palmer believes the reason Verstappen was able to flourish in his rookie season is due to the fact he was lined up against a fellow rookie, pointing out, “Max Verstappen came in alongside rookie Carlos Sainz.
“If you put Kimi in alongside rookie Isack Hadjar, it would be a lot closer than you think. We’d be thinking, Wow, the 18-year-old has got some amazing results.
“He’s made some bloopers. It wouldn’t be as drastic. If you put Max in 2015, alongside peak Sebastian Vettel, it’s probably not going to go that well for Max.”
The decision to put Antonelli in at Mercedes in his debut season in the sport is one that has been debated as his campaign started to unravel.
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff is adamant about not loaning Antonelli out to gain experience in a rival team, putting his faith in the 18-year-old’s ability to adapt to his current situation.
George Russell’s benchmark for Kimi Antonelli has been ‘incredible’
Instead of facing a new face in F1, Antonelli has had to compete with a high-flying Russell, who has often been classed as the best of the rest behind Verstappen and the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Palmer believes Russell’s results have added to Antonelli’s woes, continuing with, “To drive at the level that George Russell’s doing right now, he’s driving a champion’s season in not the best car, because the consistency of his performance is incredible.
“I feel like if you gave him a McLaren right now, he’s on a par in terms of his driving standard with Lando and Oscar, at least. Same with Max. And that’s the benchmark that we’re giving Kimi.
CategoryGeorge RussellAndrea Kimi Antonelli2025 points19466Grand Prix results160Grand Prix qualifying151Grand Prix wins10Grand Prix poles10Grand Prix podiums61Best finish1st3rdDisqualifications00Retirements04Retirements (classified finish)00Fastest laps22Grand Prix points finishes158Sprint results30Sprint Qualifying21Sprint wins00Sprint poles01Sprint podiums00The 2025 F1 teammate head-to-head battle of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli
“I know he was a sensation in karting, and he was very good in Formula Renault, Formula European regional. But he’s skipped F3. He has done one year of solid F2, but nothing really more.
“The odd spectacular drive, but the odd error as well, and he’s in Formula 1. And I still think he’s talented. I still think he’s good. But I think he needs to just get back to solid weekends and think maybe I just need to be a solid Formula 1 driver first.”
Antonelli has only managed to beat the British driver twice across all sessions and formats in the 2025 season, highlighting his inability to match the results of Russell in the same machinery.
With both drivers’ contracts up at the end of the season, they are both currently in negotiations with Mercedes regarding their futures at the team. Russell’s results mean that he has the upper hand in talks with Wolff, something that Nico Rosberg has recently commended.