Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli already turning heads in the F1 paddock, claims insider

F1 pundit Ted Kravitz has claimed that Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli has impressed many in the paddock with his performance in the W16 on Day 1 of the official pre-season testing in Bahrain. The young driver is replacing the seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, who left the German team to join Ferrari for the 2025 season.

The 18-year-old is a part of several rookies who will debut on the grid in the upcoming season. He got the opportunity to go out with the 2025 challenger first in the morning session and made heads turn with his performance. Antonelli finished the morning session atop the charts and led the likes of Hamilton and Oscar Piastri.

As per Sky Sports, Kravitz on the live broadcast of Day 2 of the F1 Testing remarked on the speed of Antonelli in his only session in the W15 and said:

"George had the more representative time yesterday, but it was Kimi Antonelli who really caught the eye of many observers in the pit lane. He was straight on the pace and looked very comfortable, despite this being his rookie season."

In the Mercedes press release, the rookie was satisfied with his morning running and reflected on his day, saying:

"That’s the first morning in the car done and it was a good session. I really enjoyed getting behind the wheel of the W16 and working through our program.

It was nice to start to build my feelings with the car and get some laps under our belt. We completed our program but there is a lot more work to get through over the next two days so I can’t wait to get back on track tomorrow."

The Italian was relegated to P7 after the batch of quicker drivers drove in the evening session at the end of the first day.

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Kimi Antonelli's teammate chimes in on topping Day 1 at testing

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli's teammate George Russell said it was a "positive day" for the German team as he topped Day 1 of F1 Testing.

As quoted by GPBlog, the British driver reflected on the opening impressions of the W16 and said:

"It was good to get in the W16 for the first day of testing and start to understand more about the car. It was a positive day as everything went smoothly and we were able to work through our program, despite the interruption with the lights going out in the afternoon!"

Russell continued his impressive showing in the 2025 challenger as he sat in P2 behind his ex-teammate Lewis Hamilton in the final hour of his Day 2 running before giving the car to Antonelli for the evening session.