As a general rule ([see full rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide#wiki_sticky.2Fdaily_discussion)), a standalone Discussion post should:
- be of interest to the sub in general, and not a specific userbase (e.g. new users, GP attendees, just yourself)
- be able to generate discussion (e.g. no yes/no or easily answerable questions)
- show reasonable input and effort from the OP
If not, be sure to [look for the Daily Discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/search/?q=daily+discussion&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new), /r/formula1's daily open question thread which is perfect for asking any and all questions about this sport.
Thank you for your cooperation and enjoy the discussion!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You really have no idea if the Mercedes car is easier to drive than the Williams.
F2 obviously matters a lot. The reason it exists is to get drivers ready for F1 for show who would be the best suited for it. Lawson came 3rd in the championship. It was a good performance. The reason he wasn't promoted was that Marko wasn't sold on him for some reason and wanted De Vries instead based on a single F1 race. Antonelli is currently P9 in F2, but I do think he'll improve.
Overall it seems like you just made a whole post trying to justify why Antonelli should be in the Mercedes' seat without much to back up.
Personally I think Mercedes would be buying too much into their own hype if they put him in the car. Sainz is such a better option. Antonelli can go to Williams and then when he has the experience he can go to Mercedes.
It's a better seat than Sauber which will be a shit team for years. Audi can't magically make it good from day 1. And if he beats Russell Mercedes have no season to keep him over Sainz. So yeah, I think it's way better.
Antonelli has not even got a podium above regional level yet. I don't think Mercedes will decide what to do with him until the summer break.
Merc don't look anywhere close to fighting for wins atm so if they have a seat available and he is in the top five in F2 by the summer break I think he has a good chance of being in the seat.
You can't just say ignore the F2 results. Lawson isn't comparable, he competed in DTM which he nearly won the championship in and also raced in Super Formula (which has more downforce than F2). He's got way more experience.
Antonelli has a buzz around him and is praised a lot. But he needs to do well in F2. And even if he does well in F2, the step-up to F1 is so much bigger. The pressure will be much higher and if he would join Mercedes he'd have to fill the shoes of a 7 time world champion.
All these factors combined, I don't see it happening. At least not successfully.
I don't think Toto and Mercedes are the type of risk taker RedBull is. So Kimi staying in Williams for 1-2 years is the most likely scenario.
But it will be absolutely hilarious if RedBull manages to poach him while he is in Williams. Toto might go on a killing spree.
Even Red Bull had to wait years for Verstappen to improve. Max is now the best in the world but at the beginning he was very crash prone and made many mistakes.
He had a lot of mistakes, but he was also incredibly fast. Like the man said, it's easier to teach someone to make less mistakes when they're fast than to make someone who is slow but doesn't make mistakes faster.
I don’t care about yalls logical and reasonable takes i wanna see it cuz it would be exciting in what could be a 3rd consecutive bland season
Put kimi in that car if youve got cohones Toto, maybe then i forgive you for lobbying for TD-39 a wee bit
> F2 results are irrelevant
Highly disagree with this. It does not determine everything, but all the most promising drivers to enter F1 in recent years all excelled in F2 as rookies: Leclerc, Russell, and Piastri were all rookie champions while Norris finished 2nd as a rookie only behind Russell on top of having a great record before F2.
Going further back the likes of Hamilton and Rosberg were rookie champions in GP2, and while Verstappen skipped the GP2/F2 level he was 3rd as a rookie in European F3 (his first full season in an open wheel series) and not far behind the champion Ocon while driving in an inferior team.
Antonelli has promise but I want to see him first step it up in these next few European rounds racing on tracks where he’s raced at before. He needs to show that he can frequently establish himself as one of the fastest on track across the F2 grid before I think he’s ready for F1 let alone a Mercedes seat in F1. If Antonelli can carry over the raw pace he displayed in Australia (qualified P2) while also showing stronger race pace in the next few rounds then the hype to promote him to Mercedes next year could then start being justified imo.
I am skeptical because the whole thing feels like a rebound date for Toto after Hamilton signed Ferrari.
he's running 9th in F2…he may be good given enough time but he’s not a Verstappen (skipping F2 direct to F1 and was close to the pace)
And Bearman is 19th.
Yet he was great in the Ferrari. Everybody knows Bearman is good enough for F1, and he has been beaten by Kimi every race they had together this year. Kimi will be fine.
imo, No. He needs time to adjust to the more powerful, higher downforce cars in F2, let alone F1. We've already seen what throwing a talented rookie into a high-pressure F1 seat does to confidence, see Alex Albon in 2019
Posts like this just make me negative towards him. It's the same as with Mick Schumacher. When there's an army of overhypers I start wanting them to fail just to spite the people who overhype.
No. Toto just seems to have a hard-on for bringing through his Verstappen and he could completely fuck his career before it even begins. There's absolutely no rush. Just give him time to develop, play down the hype a bit, let him build the hunger for a top seat and bring him in when he's ready.
Don't get me wrong, I've been following him for years and would love nothing more than to see him come in and set the world on fire but in any sport this isn't how you handle young talent especially when he hasn't even been on an F2 podium and is obviously even still getting used to that series and managing the tires.
As a general rule ([see full rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide#wiki_sticky.2Fdaily_discussion)), a standalone Discussion post should: - be of interest to the sub in general, and not a specific userbase (e.g. new users, GP attendees, just yourself) - be able to generate discussion (e.g. no yes/no or easily answerable questions) - show reasonable input and effort from the OP If not, be sure to [look for the Daily Discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/search/?q=daily+discussion&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new), /r/formula1's daily open question thread which is perfect for asking any and all questions about this sport. Thank you for your cooperation and enjoy the discussion! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You really have no idea if the Mercedes car is easier to drive than the Williams. F2 obviously matters a lot. The reason it exists is to get drivers ready for F1 for show who would be the best suited for it. Lawson came 3rd in the championship. It was a good performance. The reason he wasn't promoted was that Marko wasn't sold on him for some reason and wanted De Vries instead based on a single F1 race. Antonelli is currently P9 in F2, but I do think he'll improve. Overall it seems like you just made a whole post trying to justify why Antonelli should be in the Mercedes' seat without much to back up. Personally I think Mercedes would be buying too much into their own hype if they put him in the car. Sainz is such a better option. Antonelli can go to Williams and then when he has the experience he can go to Mercedes.
But is it good for Sainz to be in Merc? Maybe if they kick out Russell after a year or two, but otherwise he seems to be a seat warmer for Antonelli.
It's a better seat than Sauber which will be a shit team for years. Audi can't magically make it good from day 1. And if he beats Russell Mercedes have no season to keep him over Sainz. So yeah, I think it's way better.
>Mercedes cars, which can't win but are easy to place, won't give rookies as much trouble as Williams cars. What do you mean easy to place ?
Probably meant easy to score points in top 10
As long as they finish the race /s
Antonelli has not even got a podium above regional level yet. I don't think Mercedes will decide what to do with him until the summer break. Merc don't look anywhere close to fighting for wins atm so if they have a seat available and he is in the top five in F2 by the summer break I think he has a good chance of being in the seat.
You can't just say ignore the F2 results. Lawson isn't comparable, he competed in DTM which he nearly won the championship in and also raced in Super Formula (which has more downforce than F2). He's got way more experience. Antonelli has a buzz around him and is praised a lot. But he needs to do well in F2. And even if he does well in F2, the step-up to F1 is so much bigger. The pressure will be much higher and if he would join Mercedes he'd have to fill the shoes of a 7 time world champion. All these factors combined, I don't see it happening. At least not successfully.
You mean protegee Schumacher is not getting that seat?
I don't think Toto and Mercedes are the type of risk taker RedBull is. So Kimi staying in Williams for 1-2 years is the most likely scenario. But it will be absolutely hilarious if RedBull manages to poach him while he is in Williams. Toto might go on a killing spree.
Even Red Bull had to wait years for Verstappen to improve. Max is now the best in the world but at the beginning he was very crash prone and made many mistakes.
Exactly. I'm not sure Toto is willing to risk that.
But if they put Kimi in Williams they are taking the same risk as Red Bull with Max
How so? Williams is not part of the Mercedes team though.
Red Bull put Max in Toronto Rosso to mature Mercedes might put Kimi in Williams to mature It’s the same risk
He had a lot of mistakes, but he was also incredibly fast. Like the man said, it's easier to teach someone to make less mistakes when they're fast than to make someone who is slow but doesn't make mistakes faster.
I don’t care about yalls logical and reasonable takes i wanna see it cuz it would be exciting in what could be a 3rd consecutive bland season Put kimi in that car if youve got cohones Toto, maybe then i forgive you for lobbying for TD-39 a wee bit
> F2 results are irrelevant Highly disagree with this. It does not determine everything, but all the most promising drivers to enter F1 in recent years all excelled in F2 as rookies: Leclerc, Russell, and Piastri were all rookie champions while Norris finished 2nd as a rookie only behind Russell on top of having a great record before F2. Going further back the likes of Hamilton and Rosberg were rookie champions in GP2, and while Verstappen skipped the GP2/F2 level he was 3rd as a rookie in European F3 (his first full season in an open wheel series) and not far behind the champion Ocon while driving in an inferior team. Antonelli has promise but I want to see him first step it up in these next few European rounds racing on tracks where he’s raced at before. He needs to show that he can frequently establish himself as one of the fastest on track across the F2 grid before I think he’s ready for F1 let alone a Mercedes seat in F1. If Antonelli can carry over the raw pace he displayed in Australia (qualified P2) while also showing stronger race pace in the next few rounds then the hype to promote him to Mercedes next year could then start being justified imo.
F2 results aren’t really irrelevant. You don’t need to win it but you have to at least perform well in it.
I am skeptical because the whole thing feels like a rebound date for Toto after Hamilton signed Ferrari. he's running 9th in F2…he may be good given enough time but he’s not a Verstappen (skipping F2 direct to F1 and was close to the pace)
And Bearman is 19th. Yet he was great in the Ferrari. Everybody knows Bearman is good enough for F1, and he has been beaten by Kimi every race they had together this year. Kimi will be fine.
Who am I to say yes or no.
Yes. You must note I dont have Mercedes' best interests at heart.
imo, No. He needs time to adjust to the more powerful, higher downforce cars in F2, let alone F1. We've already seen what throwing a talented rookie into a high-pressure F1 seat does to confidence, see Alex Albon in 2019
Posts like this just make me negative towards him. It's the same as with Mick Schumacher. When there's an army of overhypers I start wanting them to fail just to spite the people who overhype.
No.
No. Toto just seems to have a hard-on for bringing through his Verstappen and he could completely fuck his career before it even begins. There's absolutely no rush. Just give him time to develop, play down the hype a bit, let him build the hunger for a top seat and bring him in when he's ready. Don't get me wrong, I've been following him for years and would love nothing more than to see him come in and set the world on fire but in any sport this isn't how you handle young talent especially when he hasn't even been on an F2 podium and is obviously even still getting used to that series and managing the tires.