Guenther Steiner praises 17-year-old Kimi Antonelli for admitting he doesnt know if hes ready

The news of Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari stunned the Formula 1 community, sending shockwaves through the paddock. Many rumors circulated about who would replace the seven-time world champion at the Silver Arrows, including F2 rookie Kimi Antonelli. However, despite Guenther Steiner’s strong desire to see him fill Hamilton’s seat, the 17-year-old believes he’s not yet ready for his Formula 1 debut.

The former team principal of Haas, Gunther Steiner mentioned that he doesn’t know Kimi Antonelli personally. However, Steiner was impressed by how Antonelli handled the situation when there were rumors about him possibly joining Mercedes. He praised the Italian for not becoming overconfident or too ambitious of him being hired to replace Lewis Hamilton. Instead, the 17-year-old remained grounded and kept his focus, showing maturity beyond his years. This impressed the 59-year-old, showing that Antonelli is calm and focused, which is important for success in Formula 1.

I don't know him personally, but what you see, [his] reaction when he was speculated to be in the Mercedes, for sure that could have gone a completely different way, him get getting too ambitious, but he kept his feet on the ground.

Steiner mentioned that while Antonelli would show the kind of maturity of staying grounded, it is still very impressive to see him handle at 17-year-old. Any driver would’ve gotten excited to take the seat of seven-time-world champion. But the F2 driver is not rushing the process. This is because he’s not sure whether he is ready for his debut. This led Steiner to be in awe of the 17-year-old’s level of maturity.

So, we should be expecting something like this from him, but it's still nice to see that actually [at] 17 years [of age], he is talked by everybody up to be the Mercedes driver, he says to a team: 'Just stay calm a moment, because I don't know if I'm ready.

Gunther Steiner awaits Kimi Antonelli’s potential Mercedes F1 Debut

Steiner mentioned that Kimi Antonelli is performing really well in Formula 2 despite the teams initial struggle. He is excited to see how Antonelli will perform in Formula 1. Steiner believed that it’s very likely the young driver will be announced as a Mercedes driver for the next year. The 59-year-old reckoned it’s almost certain that the rookie will end up driving for Mercedes, based on his current performance and potential. Therefore, the former team principal is confident that Antonelli’s impressive results in Formula 2 will lead to him joining the Mercedes team soon.

He's doing very well in F2, and let's see what he can do in F1, because I'm with you there… that he will be announced pretty soon that he is in the Mercedes next year.I think it goes down to it now that he will be driving a Mercedes.

Certainly, Steiner expressed his confidence in the young talent. He is optimistic Antonelli would perform the best with the car Mercedes has built recently. Also teammate George Russell would also help the 17-year-old evaluate his performance. Fans hope the Silver arrows make the announcement soon, as Formula 1 is about to resume after a long summer break.

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