F1 pundit draws Hamilton parallels while tipping emerging talent for Mercedes seat

F1 Analyst Karun Chandhok Expresses Confidence in Mercedes Prospect Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Drawing Parallels with Lewis Hamilton's Rookie Season

Amid the tumultuous driver market following Lewis Hamilton’s sensational move to Ferrari for the 2025 season, displacing Carlos Sainz, F1 pundit Karun Chandhok has thrown his support behind Mercedes prospect Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Chandhok cites Hamilton's impactful rookie season as a compelling reason to consider Antonelli as the potential successor to the British driver.

With the Mercedes seat left vacant for the upcoming year, the driver market is in upheaval. Various names, including Fernando Alonso, have been in the running to partner with George Russell. Alonso, strongly linked to Mercedes and with his Aston Martin contract set to expire at the end of the season, adds to the complexity of the ongoing speculation.

But Chandhok has backed Antonelli as someone who should be a candidate, with his incredible junior career seeing him jump past F3 and straight into F2 for 2024.

Chandhok backs Antonelli for success

In a post on his official X account, Chandhok was in agreement with The Race’s Mark Hughes about the 17-year-old ability behind the wheel.

“Agree with @SportmphMark - from everything I hear of Antonelli, he’s pretty damn special,” he tweeted.

“Spoke with the F3 engineers who ran him recently on a private test day. Said he was the best driver in an F3 car since Verstappen! “

Agree with @SportmphMark - from everything I hear of Antonelli, he’s pretty damn special.

Spoke with the F3 engineers who ran him recently on a private test day. Said he was the best driver in an F3 car since Verstappen!

McLaren gamble with rookie Lewis in 2007 worked out 🤷🏽‍♂️ https://t.co/23251LfhiL

— Karun Chandhok (@karunchandhok) February 12, 2024

He then went on to make a comparison to McLaren deciding to give Lewis Hamilton his debut in F1 back in 2007.

“McLaren gamble with rookie Lewis in 2007 worked out,” he added.

Hamilton’s rookie season in the sport is widely regarded as the best of all time, as he narrowly missed out on the world championship to Kimi Raikkonen by just one point, winning four races in the process.

READ MORE: Brundle reveals how he expects Hamilton ‘farewell tour’ to unfold

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