Let’s park the “next Verstappen” chatter for a moment.
Ralf Schumacher isn’t buying it yet. Assessing Kimi Antonelli’s rookie campaign at Mercedes, the six-time grand prix winner sees a gifted racer, not a ready-made world-beater. “I do believe that Kimi is a strong racing driver, but he simply needs time,” Schumacher told BILD, adding that the Mercedes has been “too complex” at points this year for an 18-year-old still learning the ropes.
That won’t thrill those who rushed to the superlatives. Nico Rosberg, who ran Antonelli in his karting team, famously told Sky F1 last season the Italian was “Max Verstappen-level.” High praise, and it framed the narrative from the moment Mercedes promoted Antonelli alongside George Russell after Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari.
The opening months offered both sides of the argument. Antonelli was tidy and decisive early, nicking points with the kind of calm execution teams crave from a rookie. Then came Mercedes’ ill-fated rear-suspension direction, and with it a trough in results that would test any newcomer. The team has since rolled back that change, and Antonelli’s form steadied — a reminder that context still matters more than the hype machine.
There’s also the Russell factor. He’s a proven race winner and a formidable reference, particularly in a season where Mercedes’ competitive window seems to open and shut with the breeze. When the car’s in the sweet spot — think the Canadian weekend — Antonelli’s speed and race sense surface clearly. When it isn’t, experience tends to carry the day, and Russell’s banked more of it.
So, is Antonelli “Max 2.0”? No — and that’s not a slight. Verstappen is a generational benchmark who fused freakish feel with relentless continuity in one stable project. Expecting anyone to replicate that arc on demand is setting them up to fail. Antonelli’s path will be different, and it should be allowed to be.
The raw material is obvious: sharp qualifying phases, clean elbows in traffic, and composure under pressure. What he needs is mileage — the unglamorous grind of Friday laps, the catalogue of missteps and micro-wins, and a car that isn’t moving under his feet every other weekend.
If you want a case study, look at Oscar Piastri. He arrived decorated, learned hard lessons beside an in-form Lando Norris, and only truly caught fire once team, car and experience converged. That’s the normal curve for the elite.
Schumacher’s caution feels right. Antonelli doesn’t have to be Verstappen. He just has to be allowed to become Antonelli. And if Mercedes gives him a stable platform, the ceiling still looks very high.
