Sky Sports F1's Karun Chandhok believes Kimi Antonelli driving for Mercedes, rather than Ferrari, has taken some pressure off the Italian. Antonelli joined the Mercedes junior programme as an 11-year-old after some remarkable results in karting and quickly rose up the motorsport ranks to Formula 1 and replaced Lewis Hamilton at the Silver Arrows only last year. He currently leads the Drivers' Championship by 66 points from team-mate George Russell ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid and is on course to become the youngest world champion in F1 history at 20 years old.
His father, Marco Antonelli, has previously revealed he held discussions with Ferrari but the Scuderia did not want to sign someone so young whereas Mercedes were willing to take the risk. On the latest episode of The F1 Show, Chandhok said: "I actually think by not making him a Ferrari junior, not putting him in front of Ferrari, not trying to make him a Ferrari young driver, and going down the Mercedes path, is actually the best thing that Marco Antonelli has done for his son. It's taken the pressure off in so many ways.
"Could you imagine if he was there as a Ferrari Italian driver? The pressure would be unbelievable. And Mercedes have done a fantastic job of nurturing him and bringing him here.
"I saw Kimi's parents and his sister afterwards by the Mercedes motorhome. They looked so delighted with the fact that obviously he'd won the home Grand Prix. I couldn't help but think they've managed to take away some pressure by not having him as a Ferrari driver." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Last week, Antonelli played down suggestions that he could drive for Ferrari in the future as he claimed he could spend his entire career with Mercedes.
He said "as much as Ferrari is massive, incredible brand, I am very happy where I am" but Chandhok hopes he does drive in red one day. "For the sake of the sport and the sake of Ferrari, I hope, a bit like Lewis, in 10, 15 years' time when Kimi's achieved a whole lot of things, maybe he will become a Ferrari driver. It'll be great for Ferrari to have him one day," he said.
Antonelli has stunned most of the F1 paddock this year with his speed and performances so far, but his most recent in Monza where he won from 19th on the grid made headlines around the world. Sky Sports F1's David Croft says Antonelli is a "generational talent" but is still "keeping his feet on the ground". "At the start of the weekend he was getting pranked in the paddock, getting cream pies flung at him from his team as they got him back with a birthday surprise.
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