Ex-F1 driver reckons Mercedes signed Valtteri Bottas as ‘a**e’ saver over Kimi Antonelli
Valtteri Bottas will join Mercedes as the reserve driver from the 2025 season amidst prodigy Kimi Antonelli's debut.
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Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Antonelli (via IMAGO)
Mercedes put faith in Kimi Antonelli to help reach the next level in of performance for the 2025 season. However, the team also opted to sign Valtteri Bottas as a reserve driver should the Italian showcase disappointing performances.
Ex-F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya put forth his thoughts regarding Valtteri Bottas‘s re-entry to Mercedes as a reserve driver. Kimi Antonelli had participated in a couple of testing sessions with Brackley over the 2024 season but suffered from a crash in his first FP1 outing. As a result, Montoya reckoned that Antonelli was under the spotlight at a team with George Russell already doing a ‘mega job’. The 18-year-old was also labeled as the ‘next Max Verstappen’ and must come up with good performances.
Kimi Antonelli is on the other side of the coin, in the spotlight in one of the best teams out there with a team-mate who is doing a mega job. And you’re being sold as the next Max Verstappen. If he doesn’t deliver, that’s tough.
Juan Pablo Montoya told CasasDeApuestas.bet
However, if Antonelli were to not perform well, Bottas would be easily available for Mercedes to move up to replace the former. Thus, Montoya believed that the Finnish driver was the ‘a**e saver’ for Brackley. The 35-year-old was acting as a ‘safety net’ for the team in case the prodigy didn’t get up to speed from the get-go.
My reading is that with [Valtteri] Bottas, Mercedes would be covering their a**e. He’s a safety net to have somebody in case it doesn’t work with Antonelli, and he knows that.
Juan Pablo Montoya added
Valtteri Bottas to ‘keep giving knowledge’ to Kimi Antonelli
Valtteri Bottas is a highly experienced driver especially alongside the Mercedes crew due to racing with the team in the past. Bottas highlighted that spectating the race from the sidelines would be ‘difficult’ and ‘painful’. Regardless, the Finnish was confident of his capabilities to contribute to the team especially with a rookie driver joining. As a result, the 35-year-old will need to keep giving knowledge to Antonelli and keep himself occupied.
I think it could be difficult, could be painful, because I just want to race, but I think I can still contribute a lot to the team with my experience. They will also have a rookie driver joining, who will need some help. I just need to keep busy, I guess, and keep giving all the knowledge I have. And, yeah, that’s the way to go.
Juan Pablo Montoya noted
Mercedes will have to work in the absence of Lewis Hamilton after a very long time. The seven-time world champion will take all his expertise to Ferrari in the coming season and dream to contend for the championship. Brackley on the other hand has a lot of issues to deal with before contending for the championship at the forefront.
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Aditya Pandya
(1439 Articles Published)