Jenson Button warning over Kimi Antonelli: “It can destroy a driver’s career”
"So there's a real balance there and teams need to be careful with it."
2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button has warned Mercedes that rushing Andrea Kimi Antonelli into the team could “destroy” his career if he fails to perform immediately.
Antonelli is reportedly the favourite to join George Russell at Mercedes in F1 2025 following Lewis Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari.
A decision is yet to be made by Toto Wolff as he waits to see whether he can tempt Max Verstappen into a move to Brackley.
Antonelli enjoyed a breakthrough weekend in FIA Formula 2 last time out at Silverstone, dominating the sprint race in treacherous conditions.
Wolff believes Antonelli’s win relieves a lot of the “pressure” on the Italian as the hype continues to increase ahead of his possible F1 debut next year.
As quoted by RN365, Button warned that F1 teams need to think about drivers under the age of 20 before putting them straight into the sport.
“I don't think it was too early, I think you have to take every opportunity when it comes to you, especially for youngsters at 17, 18 or 19,” Button explained.
“You can't say no! But the teams, I think they need to really think about what they're doing to a driver in his career at that age.
“If he blossoms great, but with the pressures that this sport brings, it can destroy a driver's career as well. So there's a real balance there and teams need to be careful with it.”
Button famously became the youngest British driver to make his F1 debut back in 2000 at just 20 years and 53 days.
The former Williams and McLaren driver recalled his own career where he didn’t have enough F1 testing mileage to get a super licence - but he was able to get one anyway before crashing in practice
“I remember, even Martin Brundle said 'It's too young for him'," Button added. “But it was right to say that I was very young I had hardly any testing because the engines kept blowing up.
“So I didn't have enough mileage to get a super licence but they gave me it. I went and crashed in Melbourne in practice, and it was like 'See, we told you!'.
“And then I was running in sixth in the race before the engine blew up. So I could have scored points in my first F1 race."
