Kimi Antonelli shares honest opinion about how Mercedes teammate George Russell has been a great help already

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli recently claimed that George Russell has been giving him feedback ahead of his rookie season this year. The young Italian will replace Lewis Hamilton in the German team after the latter left the Brackley-based outfit at the end of the 2024 season and joined Ferrari.

The 18-year-old has been part of the Mercedes Driver Academy for the last couple of years and impressed everyone with his rapid progression in his junior career. He skipped the F3 category to directly compete in the F2 series, where he finished P6 in the driver's standings.

In one of his first interviews in F1, speaking with Sky Sports, Kimi Antonelli said that his new teammate George Russell has been helping him settle in the sport. Here's what he said:

"No, I mean, he's been a good teammate. I mean so far, he's been helping me. We've been chatting quite a bit about a car and about the race weekends. So, he's been giving me a lot of feedback and some advice as well."

The Mercedes driver also gave his honest opinion on his first interaction with Valtteri Bottas, who will join the former world champions as its reserve driver in 2025, adding:

"With Valtteri, I was able to meet him today for the first time and to build our relationship and I'm looking forward to working closely with Valtteri beside George. Also because Valtteri is really experienced driver, he's been with Mercedes for so many years, and he can help me out during race weekends."

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff had previously mentioned that he had decided on signing the Italian just moments after Hamilton had announced his intentions to leave the German team.

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Kimi Antonelli gives his take on Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli stated that Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari was "weird" as the latter would be driving in an Italian team while he would be driving in a British-based outfit.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, the 18-year-old joked about the situation, saying:

“It’s a bit weird because it’s a bit controversial that an Italian driver is going to Mercedes and an English driver is going to Ferrari! But I’m super happy with the position I am [in], and of course, there’s a lot of hype around because [there’s] another new Italian on the grid."

"And then of course such a figure like Lewis joining Ferrari is an incredible thing. I think during the Italian Grand Prix there is going to be a lot of excitement around.”

At the moment, Kimi Antonelli only has a contract for the 2025 season alongside George Russell but would most likely sign an extension given Wolff's heavy interest and investment in the driver's career thus far.