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Jenson Button Cautions Mercedes: Rushing Antonelli into F1 Could Spell Career Disaster
Jenson Button cautions about Kimi Antonelli: "It has the potential to end a driver's career."
"There's a critical equilibrium to maintain, and teams must tread lightly with this."
2009 Formula One world champion Jenson Button has cautioned Mercedes against hastily integrating Andrea Kimi Antonelli into their squad, suggesting that a premature promotion could potentially ruin his career should he not deliver instant results.
According to sources, Antonelli is emerging as the top choice to team up with George Russell at Mercedes for the 2025 F1 season, this comes after Lewis Hamilton made the move to Ferrari.
Toto Wolff has not yet reached a decision, as he is holding out to see if he can persuade Max Verstappen to make a switch to Brackley.
Antonelli experienced a significant career milestone during the last FIA Formula 2 event at Silverstone, where he excelled in the sprint race despite challenging weather conditions.
Wolff thinks that Antonelli's victory eases much of the "stress" he's been under, especially as anticipation grows for his potential Formula 1 debut next year.
According to RN365, Button cautioned that F1 teams should carefully consider the implications of introducing drivers younger than 20 directly into the competition.
"Button argued that it wasn't prematurely done, stressing the importance of seizing each chance that comes your way, particularly for young individuals aged 17, 18, or 19."
"It's impossible to refuse! However, I believe the teams must seriously consider the impact of their actions on a driver's career at that stage."
"If he thrives, that's wonderful, but considering the intense pressures inherent in this sport, it could also lead to the downfall of a driver's career. Therefore, there's a crucial equilibrium to maintain, and teams must tread cautiously."
In 2000, Button notably set a record as the youngest British racer to start his F1 career at the tender age of 20 years and 53 days.
The ex-Williams and McLaren racer reflected on his personal experience, where he lacked the requisite Formula 1 testing experience to qualify for a super licence. Nonetheless, he managed to obtain one before experiencing an accident during a practice session.
Button recalled, mentioning that even Martin Brundle had commented, "He's too young for this." Button agreed, acknowledging, "Indeed, I was quite young and barely got any testing done due to the engines constantly failing."
"I didn't accumulate sufficient miles to qualify for a super license, yet they issued one to me. Then, during a practice session in Melbourne, I ended up crashing, which basically confirmed their initial concerns."
"Then, I found myself in sixth place during the race when suddenly the engine failed. This meant I missed out on the opportunity to earn points in my debut F1 race."
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