Formula 1: The completely unfair issue Kimi Antonelli could fall victim to

Ever since seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton confirmed the rumor that had seemingly found its way into silly season on an annual basis for the last decade or so, announcing that he is set to leave Mercedes after 12 seasons and join Ferrari next year, the name most often linked to what is currently his seat at the Silver Arrows has been Kimi Antonelli.

Antonelli is a 17-year-old phenom who currently competes in Formula 2 for Prema Racing. He has won two races this season, and he won all kinds of single-seater championships, including last year's Formula Regional European Championship and Formula Regional Middle East Championship, before making the jump to the level just below Formula 1.

The Italian driver has been a member of the Mercedes Junior Team since 2019, back when he was only 12 years old. He has remained with the program over the last several years, and he could make the move to Formula 1 as early as 2025.

Williams had been mentioned as a possibility for Antonelli, given the relationship between Toto Wolff and James Vowles, plus the Grove-based team's existing partnership with Mercedes as their long-time engine supplier. But Carlos Sainz Jr. was recently confirmed as the replacement for Logan Sargeant alongside Alex Albon for 2025.

So Antonelli's Formula 1 debut looks poised to come with the Mercedes factory team alongside two-time Grand Prix winner George Russell, as the Brackley-based team have not yet confirmed another replacement for Hamilton, despite links to everybody from Sainz to Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

A move to Mercedes in 2025, especially amid the team's recent resurgence after two years of struggle in the new ground effect era of rules and regulations, would be a massive jump for the youngster, who would be expected to hit the ground running with top-tier pace – and race wins – straight from the get-go.

And that's where he could fall victim to a completely unfair situation that is not of his own doing.

Antonelli had been labeled the "next Max Verstappen" long before he ever even competed in a Formula 2 race, given how highly regarded he is within the Mercedes organization.

To be fair, Verstappen never competed in a Formula 2 race at all, as Red Bull wanted to ensure that he committed his long-term future to them (over Mercedes, ironically). He joined the Formula 1 grid with sister team Toro Rosso as a 17-year-old in 2015.

But with Hamilton set to leave Mercedes after the 2024 season, the name Kimi Antonelli suddenly became a household name in the Formula 1 world, and all of a sudden everybody found out who the "next Max Verstappen" is seemingly destined to be.

With all due respect to Antonelli's talent, the comparison to a driver who has earned the title of "generational talent" might only make things more difficult as he adjusts to Formula 1, especially if that adjustment comes with the immediate jump to a contending team in Mercedes.

Verstappen won his first race with Red Bull as an 18-year-old in 2016, and he has since gone on to add 60 more victories, launching him all the way up to third place on the all-time Formula 1 wins list.

He has broken numerous records along the way, and because he went from "next" to "now" so long ago, sometimes fans forget that he is still 26 years old.

That's a high bar to clear if you're a driver with zero Formula 1 experience. But that bar has been set, and with that comes the added pressure to perform at the highest level.

Is it fair? Absolutely not. It all boils down to media hype, and when it comes to Antonelli, it is even worse simply because of the era of Formula 1 that currently exists.

Verstappen is still the top driver, and while there are always talks about the "next (insert top athlete name)" in any sport, a comparison which inherently puts pressure on any budding star, that talk is undoubtedly even more pronounced nowadays because of the considerable bias within certain media outlets against Verstappen.

It has become relatively obvious that some are hoping for that "next Verstappen" to emerge as soon as possible, and Antonelli is the driver to whom they have turned.

All eyes being on him only adds to the pressure, because as soon as he makes any kind of error, there are going to be questions asked that would not otherwise be asked.

Some of those questions have already been asked, given the fact that he is only sitting in seventh place in the Formula 2 standings with just two podium finishes in 20 starts.

But as unfair as it is, professional athletes, whether they're 17 or 47 years old, know what they have signed up for. It comes with the territory. It's how they respond to the outside noise that determines who they truly become and the legacy they build.

Perhaps if he is to become the "next Verstappen", Antonelli can take some relevant advice from the Dutchman that he shared after winning the 2021 world championship with his first 10-win season.

“Just keep on doing what I had been doing before, and know who the important people are to you in terms of the team — close people,” Verstappen told Beyond the Flag when asked about his ability to ignore the outside noise, specifically that from biased sources.

“You know, at the end of the day, what people write about you, that shouldn’t really upset you or put you off, because it’s very important to be working with the people who actually can make a difference in terms of your performance. That’s what I’ve been doing."

It's an approach that certainly appears to be working. Since then, Verstappen has added 41 more wins and two more world championships, and he is the current world championship leader, just beyond the halfway mark of the 2024 season.

Perhaps Antonelli's first step to becoming the "next Max Verstappen" is simply approaching Formula 1 with a similar mentality as he aims to meet and exceed all expectations, as lofty as they may seem.