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A lot is riding on the shoulders of teenage Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, so fans are excited to see him perform well in pre-season testing. But not everyone is convinced the guy has what it takes to become the next Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton is settling in nicely with Scuderia Ferrari.
As pointed out by Sky Sports F1, Antonelli logged the fastest time around the Bahrain circuit in pre-season testing. That has people talking since there’s considerable hype behind the kid. After all, Mercedes is building him up as the next great champion of the sport.
Antonelli’s fastest lap time was a scorching 1:31.428. He did 78 laps around the track the morning of February 26, reportedly looking solid with only one notable error towards the end of his testing time.
But we’ve seen this sort of thing play out before where the next hottest driver fizzles out. Just because someone was dominant in other series doesn’t mean they’ll stroll into F1 and rock the boat. After all, they’re racing against some of the best drivers in the world, so many struggle with such fierce competition.
Plus, in pre-season testing there isn’t true parity among the teams. After all, different cars are running different tires, fuel levels, even aero setups. That makes comparisons an apples to oranges scenario.
While some drivers are whipping through the circuit as fast as they can, which might have been what Antonelli did, others are feeling out their car to fine-tune different aspects before they really push the envelope. That could explain why Hamilton rolled off the track surface briefly a few times, perhaps testing out some aspect of his F1 car before he gets into competitive action.
These facts aren’t stifling some Mercedes fans who are dead set on believing Antonelli will deliver some big victories in his rookie season. The 18-year-old Italian has some big shoes to fill and only time will tell if he’s up to the task.
Image via mercedesamgf1/Instagram
