Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director at Mercedes, also acknowledged the lack of preparation that the rookies – including Silver Arrows racer Antonelli – have had prior to making their debuts on the grid.
“It’s quite impressive the way that a lot of them can go from F2 or other feeder series straight into F1 and perform at a good level,” Shovlin explained. “To be honest, we’ve had so much focus on Kimi, we haven’t really been looking at everyone else.
“With Kimi, we’re measuring him by where he is compared to George [Russell], where he is compared to the other drivers in the top teams. But yeah, there’s obviously a lot of talent there.
“It is difficult for them – when you’ve got one and a half days in Bahrain to get used to the new car, then you’re thrown into some of the situations we’ve had – the wet race in Melbourne, difficult circuits like China and Suzuka.
“They’re all quite challenging tracks. But I think it’s quite exciting for the sport to have so many new names coming into it.”
