Mercedes told they've made 'mistake' by not following Max Verstappen example

Eddie Jordan has given Mercedes a severe heads-up regarding Kimi Antonelli after his tough F1 debut at the Italian Grand Prix . The teenage prodigy, who is set to replace the Ferrari -bound Lewis Hamilton to partner George Russell at Mercedes next season, got a taste of action during the initial free practice session at Monza last weekend. However, his session ended prematurely when he lost control at the Parabolica corner and crashed Russell's car into barriers just 10 minutes in.

The blunder ignited a flurry of gossip, leading many to question whether Mercedes may be overestimating the youngster's readiness. On the Formula For Success podcast , Jordan didn't mince his words about Antonelli, admitting he wasn't all that surprised by the mishap before suggesting the Italian wasn't ready for a top-tier team. "I thought the pressure of Mercedes would be too much for Kimi and his debut, and that's the way it was, he spun out and caused a lot of damage to the car," the 76-year-old said.



"I still believe that there's a place for Kimi but it's not in Mercedes, that's the point I'm trying to make. "I don't care how quick he is. He should be placed somewhere that will give Toto [Wolff] and his team the chance to learn for a year and come up that way.

" Podcast co-host David Coulthard countered by pointing out that Max Verstappen was just 17 when he made his F1 debut with Toro Rosso, though Jordan felt this proved his point. "That's perfect. That's exactly what should happen.

Max was in Toro Rosso," he replied. "Kimi should be in Williams or somewhere else where Toto can place him. I Remember what Bernie Ecclestone used to say: 'Earn the right to ask'.

At the moment I don't see how Antonelli has earned the right. Not yet. He doesn't give me that factor of total belief.

" Following the crash, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff leaped to Antonelli's defence, prompting Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle to declare him "the luckiest young driver I think I’ve ever known". Continuing, he said: "Because Toto loves him. He’s clearly a very talented young man, but he crashes the car, and Toto is like, 'Did you see how fast he was before he crashed?' "And then George, whose car he's just crashing, goes, 'He's the man for the future.

I'm really pleased to have him as a team-mate'. They've been so kind to him!" Last week's accident aside, Antonelli's talent remains evident, having collected titles at every turn on the karting and junior racing scene. He joined the Mercedes Junior Team in 2019, and has been turning heads in the company ever since.

His mishap at Monza might have knocked his confidence, but it hasn't altered Mercedes' opinion of the Italian racer. Just a day after the incident, he was confirmed as Hamilton's stand-in, and later, Mercedes' engineering director Andrew Shovlin said Antonelli would get the chance to redeem himself in an upcoming practice session. "Obviously, he didn't get as much mileage as we'd hoped for," Shovlin said during a debrief on Mercedes' F1 YouTube channel .

"We have been doing and we are doing work with some of our previous cars giving Kimi the opportunity to experience the car, the tyres over a range of circuits. "So that's going to continue, bit of a shame that he had that accident at Parabolica, the pace was certainly good. We'll chat to him about building up a bit more gently in future and how you approach the race weekend.

We're looking forward to getting him in the car again." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.

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