Antonelli is a contender, but tensions are expected - Irvine
"It's still too soon to make any forecasts."
Eddie Irvine is of the opinion that Kimi Antonelli is already a true contender for the world championship, but cautions that a potential rivalry within the Mercedes team could become intense. "I first learned about him from Luca Baldisserri, who was my race engineer at Ferrari," the former F1 driver shared with La Gazzetta dello Sport. "He spoke of him as an exceptional talent after observing him in the lower leagues. I have to concede that he was correct. It has been a long time since Italy had a driver of this level. Kimi is a genuine title contender, but it’s still too early to speculate about how the season will wrap up."
Nevertheless, the ex-Ferrari driver anticipates tension if Antonelli keeps up with teammate George Russell. "I'm completely sure of that," the Northern Irishman stated. "The stakes are too high, and the drivers are performing similarly. Therefore, Toto Wolff won’t be able to intervene with team orders." Irvine also referred to Mercedes' history as a cautionary tale. "He has faced very tense situations during Lewis Hamilton's battles with Nico Rosberg and then with Max Verstappen," he remarked, speaking about Wolff.
Looking beyond Mercedes, Irvine was less optimistic about his former team’s chances to maintain a title challenge. "It’s always very complex for Ferrari," he noted. "The issue is the distance from the F1 world, which is based in the United Kingdom. However, compared to last year, I believe they can secure at least one victory." Regarding Lewis Hamilton’s stronger early performance this season, he commented: "I wouldn’t take it for granted. In China, he made it to the podium for the first time with Ferrari, but that’s his track. In Japan, however, he was significantly outperformed by Charles Leclerc throughout the weekend."
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