‘We missed an Italian on the F1 grid’ – Ex-F1 driver Liuzzi tips ‘amazing’ Antonelli to shine at Mercedes

Former F1 racer Vitantonio Liuzzi expects Kimi Antonelli to hit the ground running during his debut Formula 1 season with Mercedes, arguing that his fellow Italian has already demonstrated “the most important thing” required from a driver.

Antonelli, who recently turned 18, is preparing to make the step up to F1 with the Silver Arrows in 2025 after a rapid rise through the junior motorsport ranks that has taken him from F4 to Formula Regional to F2 over the last couple of years.

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Mercedes made the announcement that Antonelli will replace Lewis Hamilton a day after he crashed out of his debut F1 practice session with the team at the Italian Grand Prix, sparking some debate around the promotion.

But Liuzzi, who raced in F1 between 2005 and 2011, reckons the youngster will grow stronger from the incident and expects him to get up to speed quickly when he slots in alongside George Russell – another graduate of the Mercedes junior driver programme.

“Kimi showed really strong performance since [his] karting time,” Liuzzi told F1.com of his countryman’s journey so far. “I think he’s an amazing talent.

“What happened [in FP1 at Monza] can happen to anybody when they reach F1. There’s a lot of pressure, a lot of stress, but he deserves this seat, he deserves an F1 position. I think he’s going to have a shining future.

“I’m happy that Mr. [Toto] Wolff gave him a chance and he’s in a really great environment. I’m really looking forward to 2025 and to see how he will perform.”

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While Liuzzi admits there will be plenty of pressure to deal with and some challenges to overcome, he feels the set up at Mercedes – and the advice Russell can offer – should help Antonelli cope with both factors.

“Russell is a really amazing team mate as a benchmark,” continued the former Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT driver. “Kimi can learn from George and take a lot of information [on board]. I think he will be quickly up to speed and he can be a really good team player.

“It won’t be easy, because obviously you start with a lot of pressure in a team like Mercedes, one of the top teams in the field, but I think if he’s smart enough to play well his cards, as I said before, he will have a really bright future.

“The speed is there, and that you cannot buy, so that’s the most important thing.”

When he arrives at next year’s season-opening round in Australia, Antonelli will become the first Italian driver to grace the F1 grid since Antonio Giovinazzi in 2021 – the former GP2 runner-up spending three campaigns with Alfa Romeo.

Liuzzi and Jarno Trulli were the reference points before that, having completed their final starts back in 2011, while Giancarlo Fisichella remains the last Italian to win an F1 race with his triumph at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix.

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“We missed an Italian on the F1 grid – it’s so important,” said Liuzzi, who amassed 26 points from 80 starts in the top echelon, scoring a best result of sixth place on two occasions.

“Italy is such a historic country for motorsport. Apart from the Grand Prix, we have historic brands, great brands, so it’s important to keep the passion of the people high.

“It’s amazing that we have this opportunity [with] an Italian back on the grid, and I think he will have a lot of support from Italy, because there is a lot of passion about F1 [in the country].”