Andrea Kimi Antonelli has proven to be a “great fit” for Mercedes, replacing Lewis Hamilton, according to Andrew Schoblin, director of trackside engineering.
Mercedes chose to promote the 18-year-old Antoneri after a season of Formula 2 following Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari, and marked it in 2010 when he first ran the rookie driver after returning to the sport.
“He’s perfect for the team,” Shoblin said. (The photo above is with Antoneri). “It’s hard to come after a successful driver like Lewis. And for you, it’s still really early in his Formula 1 career. Luckily, he has Bono and a very experienced race engineer who are thinking about how to approach the weekend and how to build your speed and how to work in the car setup.
“Everyone on the team is very excited to work with him and he enjoys it. I don’t think I could believe he was actually starting F1 races in Melbourne.
Antonelli’s encouragement’s start mirrors Mercedes’ start, with George Russell taking two podiums in the opening two rounds, with Shoblin saying the early signs are promising for the team.
“We showed we have a car that works well on a variety of circuits,” he said. “But what we saw is that McLaren is probably the team they’ll beat. Max is pretty fast. Ferrari certainly doesn’t look like they’re way behind and they have a bit of a bad luck.
“We’re trying to try and develop cars because, like I said, we think we need to fill that gap in McLaren, in particular. But there are three very exciting circuits: Suzuki, that’s a great track.
“Then, in Bahrain. We know Bahrain because we’re testing there. It has its own challenges, but I hope we’re at least in the podium fight. And Saudi Arabia.
“So, three very different circuits. And by the time we did five, we’ll probably get an idea of real order. But like I said, it’s more predictable that drivers enjoy driving, and we’re looking forward to the rest.”