“It’s not going to be easy”: Valtteri Bottas predicts tough F1 acclimatization for Mercedes prodigy Kimi Antonelli

Valtteri Bottas believes Kimi Antonelli’s transition to Mercedes and Formula 1 won’t be easy. Speaking to Sky Sports F1 ahead of the 2024 Azerbaijan GP, the former Mercedes driver acknowledged that while the young Italian is well-prepared, his rookie season will bring challenges.

Having raced alongside Lewis Hamilton from 2017 to 2021, Bottas is familiar with the atmosphere and high expectations at Mercedes. The Finnish driver, who supported Hamilton toward the end of his stint, understands the pressures of competing for a top team. While he believes Antonelli has received ample support from Mercedes in simulator training and testing, Bottas also emphasized that the 18-year-old will face a steep learning curve in Formula 1.

Speaking about Antonelli joining his former team, Bottas said:

“I think they have already shown lots of support for him. I think he has had good preparation and will have good progression for his first season. Obviously he is very young and he doesn’t yet have much experience from single seaters and that’s a fact. So it's not going to be easy. There are going to be a lot of new things he needs to adapt to and learn. The amount of people he will be working with, the amount of information he will be getting this year and especially when he starts racing next year.

"Initially it's a bit of a shock, but like I said I’m sure they will prepare him as well as possible. You know nowadays with the simulator, I think he’s done a bit of testing with the older cars as well.”

Bottas believes both Mercedes and Antonelli have high expectations of each other.

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Valtteri Bottas believes Mercedes and Kimi Antonelli have high expectations from each other

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Valtteri Bottas said that as a 2025 Mercedes debutant, Kimi Antonelli will face the pressure of meeting the standards of a top F1 team right from his rookie season. However, Bottas, now with Sauber, added that debuting with a leading team like Mercedes would be ideal. Despite the strong backing from Toto Wolff, Bottas emphasized that Antonelli will be expected to deliver consistent top-tier results from the outset.

Speaking about the challenges that lie ahead both for Antonelli and his team, Bottas said:

“So as a driver you always take that kind of opportunity. You know if I was Kimi, no doubt, of course, you go for it. But in this sport, there’s always the element of risk, in this case both for Kimi, because he will need to deliver. It's a big team and that's what they are expecting. But same thing for Mercedes, you know, if they have a race winning car, they’ll want to get points with both cars. Thats the name of the game, but like I said, he will be well prepared, and then next year he can show what he can do.

"And if I would go to any team as a rookie, you always want to go to the best team. You know, the faster the car, that's where you want to go. It's just how it is mentally. And yeah Toto as well, like I said he has shown lots of support for Kimi and I’m sure he will continue to do so. But knowing him, he will expect great things, that's natural.”

After leaving Mercedes at the end of 2021, Bottas took over from Finnish world champion Kimi Räikkönen at Sauber in 2022. The 35-year-old has consistently outperformed his younger teammate, Zhou Guanyu, and enjoyed a less pressured stint than his intense period with the Silver Arrows.

However, Bottas and his team are yet to score a point in the 2024 season. He is out of contract with the Hinwil-based team at the end of 2024 and hopes to renew his contract for 2025 when the Swiss squad is rebadged as Audi F1, with Nico Hülkenberg already signed on a multiyear deal.