Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton
As Lewis Hamilton prepares for his grand Ferrari debut at the Australian Grand Prix, is he facing an uphill battle to make the podium?
Potentially so as Sky F1’s pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz confirmed “that Mercedes is quick” and as Hamilton looks to mark the start of his journey with the famed Italian team via a podium, could it instead be F1’s new Italian driver that steals the headlines?
Kimi Antonelli to deny Lewis Hamilton Aus GP podium?
After activating a release clause in his Mercedes deal ahead of the 2024 season to sign with Ferrari, Hamilton is now on the eve of his first race with the Scuderia, as Albert Park returns to its place as the season opener in F1 2025 for the first time since 2019.
The three-day test in Bahrain offered our first clues into how the pecking order is looking for the new season, and after PlanetF1.com’s resident data expert Pablo Hidalgo crunched the numbers, McLaren came out looking strong in race mode.
That is a view shared by Kravitz, but behind McLaren, he believes Mercedes could well be next down the road with their W16.
Asked by Sky F1 colleague Craig Slater if Mercedes could back their strong testing performance up for a good part of the season, Kravitz replied: “Definitely.
“I mean, I would not be at all surprised if we saw George Russell on the podium in Melbourne.
“Maybe, if you’re saying the McLaren is the fastest car, it could be a Norris Piastri, Piastri Norris first and second. And I would say that George Russell has got a great chance of being third.”
However, Kravitz also believes the same applies for Russell’s new Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli.
Mercedes looked within their own ranks for Hamilton’s replacement, calling up the Italian teenager after a trophy-laden junior career to take over alongside Russell.
So, could it be Antonelli who writes the headlines for his home nation in Melbourne?
“But that Mercedes is quick,” Kravitz continued. “Watch out for Kimi Antonelli, the 18-year-old Italian driver, great to have an Italian back in Formula 1.
“When all the attention is on the man who went from Mercedes to Ferrari, it might be an Italian driver, not in a Ferrari, who manages to get on the podium.”
He added: “That Mercedes is quick. I would put it behind the McLarens in terms of where they are on the grid.
“And maybe ahead of the Ferraris earlier on.”
