Antonelli is a competitor, but conflicts are expected - Irvine
"It's still too soon to make any forecasts."
Eddie Irvine believes Kimi Antonelli is already a legitimate contender for the world championship, but he cautions that an intra-team rivalry at Mercedes could become volatile. "I first learned about him from Luca Baldisserri, who was my race engineer at Ferrari," the former F1 driver told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "He described him as an exceptional talent after observing him in the lower leagues. I must say, he was correct. It’s been a long time since Italy has had a driver of this level. Kimi is a serious title contender, but it’s still too early to predict how the season will conclude."
Nonetheless, the former Ferrari driver anticipates tension if Antonelli continues to perform on par with teammate George Russell. "I’m completely confident of that," the Northern Irishman stated. "The stakes are too high, and the drivers have comparable performances. Thus, Toto Wolff cannot step in with team orders." Irvine also referenced Mercedes’ history as a cautionary tale. "He has experienced very tense scenarios when Lewis Hamilton competed against Nico Rosberg and then with Max Verstappen," he remarked regarding Wolff.
When discussing Mercedes, Irvine was less certain that his former team could maintain a title challenge. "It's always quite complex for Ferrari," he mentioned. "The issue is the distance from the F1 world, which is in the United Kingdom. However, compared to last year, I believe they can secure at least one victory." Regarding Lewis Hamilton's stronger start to the season, he added: "I wouldn't take it for granted. In China, he reached the podium for the first time with Ferrari, but that's his track. Conversely, in Japan, he was outperformed by Charles Leclerc throughout the weekend."
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