Ralf Schumacher decides: Kimi Antonelli is ‘not the next Max Verstappen’

Kimi Antonelli is a “strong racing driver”, but “the next Max Verstappen”, Ralf Schumacher thinks not.

Schumacher, a winner of six grands prix, cast that judgement on Mercedes’ teenage star at the summer break stage in his rookie season.

Kimi Antonelli: Max Verstappen 2.0?

After a stellar junior career which saw Antonelli hoover up the titles, Mercedes promoted the Italian to an F1 2025 race seat. He took over as team-mate to George Russell after Lewis Hamilton departed for Ferrari.

After a strong start to the year for Antonelli, points finishes a regular occurrence, tougher times arrived. Those coincided with Mercedes’ wrong turn with a rear-suspension upgrade.

The Silver Arrows ditched that alteration in time for the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Antonelli picked up a point, only the second time he had scored in eight grands prix.

Prior to his arrival on the grid with Mercedes, their 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg had compared Antonelli with Verstappen, the reigning four-time World Champion who burst onto the scene in 2015 as a 17-year-old.

“Kimi Antonelli raced in my go-karting team when he was a little kid,” said Rosberg on Sky F1 in 2024. “He’s phenomenal. He’s Max Verstappen-level. It’s really unbelievable.”

However, from what he has seen thus far, former Jordan, Williams and Toyota driver Ralf Schumacher is not so sure.

Part of the issue is that the Mercedes W16 has proven “too complex” for Antonelli, in the opinion of Schumacher.

“I do believe that Kimi is a strong racing driver, but he simply needs time,” Schumacher told BILD.

“He progressed very quickly through the junior series and therefore has relatively little experience.

“When everything is right for him, he is fast, but the car was obviously too complex.

“I wouldn’t describe him as the next Max Verstappen.”

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli head-to-head in F1 2025

? F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

? F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

It is far too early to judge Kimi Antonelli

It has been an up-and-down rookie season for Antonelli thus far, but if Mercedes expected flawless delivery, they would not have taken this risk.

To race in Formula 1 as an 18-year-old, fast-tracked through the junior categories, and already have a podium on the board, is impressive.

While Russell has been able to stay in the conversation for points through Mercedes’ slump, that is where experience comes in very handy to keep head above water. Russell is a four-time grand prix winner, with six-and-a-half seasons under his belt. You just cannot expect the same from Antonelli when that wisdom and experience is absent.

For proof that impressive, raw ability lies within Antonelli, one only needs to look at the Canadian GP. An outlier in Mercedes’ challenging period, Russell took the win and Antonelli joined him on the podium.

An ideal case study for why Antonelli needs time is Oscar Piastri. Reeling off three junior title wins in a row, Piastri got his shot at McLaren, but the first two seasons were important building phases. The experienced Lando Norris was the stronger package.

Piastri’s third season arrives, and boom, he is leading the Drivers’ Championship from Norris, having come on leaps and bounds with his race craft through hard work and experience.

Give Antonelli time. He will come good.

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