Rosberg on Antonelli choice: 'I was shaking my head'

Andrea Kimi Antonelli will drive alongside George Russell for Mercedes in the 2025 Formula 1 season. That was announced on Saturday morning, before third free practice and qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. Nico Rosberg could not have done it at 18, he told Sky Sports prior to FP3.

"This guy is very, very special, that's a fact," Rosberg began. "He can be the best talent of the next generation, for sure. So if now it's Verstappen, then it can be Kimi Antonelli. But it's early, just now I was watching this press conference, just now here, and I was shaking my head, because internally I can see myself there, I would not have been able to cope with that at 18."

"Without also having the confidence of, yes, I can do it by winning Formula 2 or something, because he has unluck that he got a bad car in Formula 2. So he's not able to really show what he can do. So that doesn't help really either," Rosberg continued.

Toto Wolff was already saying that the choice for Antonelli was quickly made. Indeed, the Austrian revealed that just five minutes after Lewis Hamilton's departure was announced, Antonelli was chosen in his head. During the season, Wolff also made attempts to bring Max Verstappen to the team, but that did not materialise.

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