Mercedes has highlighted the influence that experienced race engineer Pete Bonnington has had on Kimi Antonelli’s “brilliant” start to his F1 career, noting that there is still much to come from the young Italian .
Antonelli currently sits fifth in the drivers’ standings after his first two race weekends, thanks to fourth and sixth places in Australia and China, and seventh place in the sprint race in Shanghai.
Four rookies are yet to score points in the 2025 season, while Ollie Bearman has four points compared to Antonelli’s 22. The 18-year-old Italian is the highest-placed driver in the standings yet to score a podium finish, but based on his performances it is only a matter of time before he does.
Antonelli was promoted to fill the void left by Lewis Hamilton’s departure to Ferrari and was paired with the seven-time world champion’s engineer, Bonnington, who guided Hamilton to 83 of his 84 victories at Mercedes and all six titles achieved with the Silver Arrows.
