Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes that Andrea Kimi Antonelli needs to prove himself before any comparisons can be made with Max Verstappen. Marko, who has discovered many young talents in his career at Red Bull, including Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, cautions that not every promising talent will have a successful Formula 1 career.
Antonelli will be driving for Mercedes from next season, replacing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Expectations are already high for the young Italian, but according to Red Bull’s Helmut Marko, Antonelli first needs to prove himself. “I was impressed by his speed,” admits Marko.
Antonelli is not the first driver to reach Formula 1 at a young age. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen made his debut at just 17 years old. Is Antonelli therefore the ‘Max Verstappen’ of Mercedes? Marko doesn’t think so. “Max is Max. Antonelli needs to prove himself first. He needs to deliver results now.”
‘Can’t Have Them All’
Marko does admit that he had Antonelli on his radar when the Italian joined Mercedes’ training program at just twelve years old in 2019. “But you can’t have them all,” the Austrian grins. Marko did manage to bring Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen to Red Bull.
However, according to the advisor, it’s “not guaranteed” that a great talent will have a great Formula 1 career. “There’s a driver who then loses his motivation, gets a girlfriend, or loses his grip. It’s all happened before.”
Does this mean that team bosses shouldn’t give young talents a chance? Marko disagrees with this as well. “The Grand Prix performances of Oliver Bearman and especially Franco Colapinto have shown that the youngsters are ready for the next step,” writes Marko. “The old philosophy of some team bosses that you can only promote drivers to a top team with three or four years of experience is outdated.”
