Sports
Mercedes F1’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli prepares to succeed, not replace, Lewis Hamilton
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MONZA, Italy — Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Formula One practice debut was over nearly as quickly as it started.
The 18-year-old driver topped the timesheets early during first practice ahead of the Italian Grand Prix; however, he soon lost control through Parabolica, the high-speed Turn 11, crashing into the tire barriers. The Formula Two driver was okay and walked away feeling like he learned a lesson “in a tough way.”
“I learned that I cannot go flat out looking for the limit straight away. Especially looking back, the track was very slippery. The grip was quite a bit lower than expected,” Antonelli said. “I was pushing too hard, for sure. For the next few times, I will just try to build the run more progressively instead of just trying to find the limit.”
Antonelli owned the mistake, but it came less than 24 hours before Mercedes announced the Italian would complete its 2025 driver lineup, making Antonelli the third confirmed rookie for next season.
Antonelli experienced a rapid rise through the junior categories, including skipping a few stops along the way. His crash in FP1 wouldn’t have been the first time skeptics have wondered: is Antonelli, who turned 18 only a week ago, ready for the step up to F1?
Mercedes feels so.
“As a driver, you have the speed or you don’t have the speed. I’m very confident that Kimi has the speed. Everybody on their journey is going to make mistakes,” George Russell said Saturday. “That’s part of life and part of this sport. I have no doubt Kimi will learn from yesterday, but he’s definitely got the speed to help Mercedes get back to the front of the grid for next year and onwards, and that’s exactly why he’s going to be alongside me in the car next year.”
GO DEEPER
Toto Wolff took ‘five minutes’ to decide on Antonelli as Hamilton’s F1 replacement
Antonelli’s background
Antonelli’s ascent to F1 is similar to that of reigning world champion Max Verstappen.
The Dutchman went straight from Formula Three to an F1 seat in 2015, becoming the youngest driver to ever start a grand prix at age 17. Antonelli skipped F3 altogether and went straight to F2 in 2024 after being crowned champion in Formula Regional Europe and Formula Regional Middle East last year. It came after four consecutive title victories, dating back to 2020 (European karting twice, ADAC F4 and Italian F4).
Skipping a step in the motorsport ladder and fast-tracking a driver’s career isn’t the typical Mercedes approach. With Russell, for example, he competed at every level — F4, F3, F2 – before reaching F1. But as Antonelli ascended, skepticism followed.
Spectators and the media will likely analyze any mistake the young driver makes, particularly when racing for a front-running team.
“One of the main factors is that when you know you have a team like Mercedes around you that really believe in you, and they have been believing in me from a really young age, it really helps you to feel and to cope with this pressure really well,” Antonelli said when asked how he’s preparing to cope with the pressure.
Marco Antonelli and Andrea Kimi Antonelli after Formula 2 Sprint Race at Silverstone Circuit in Northampton, Great Britain on July 6, 2024. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Even though sometimes I still don’t cope with that perfectly, I still get the right support from Mercedes but also from my family, so I’m really happy to be with them and really happy with the support they’ve been giving me. Not only in the past but nowadays.”
Antonelli was born in Bologna and comes from a family where both parents are involved in his career, a father (who has experience racing in European touring cars) with strong racing knowledge and a mother who continues to be supportive, Wolff said.
The Mercedes team boss discussed how humility and loyalty are essential qualities for the 18-year-old, sharing that the family remained committed to Mercedes despite rival teams pursuing him. “Marco Antonelli has always been clear: ‘You gave us the opportunity, and that’s why we are sticking with you.’”
And then, there’s Antonelli’s raw talent. There are qualities that you can’t teach a driver, and Wolff reiterated how “it’s easier to make someone calm down in terms of aggressiveness than the other way around.”
“James Allison actually said when (Antonelli) launched himself at the first lap (on Friday), the first braking into the chicane, he had both tires into the grass already,” Wolff continued. “So the difference between free practice and qualifying we have to discuss!
“But that’s also Kimi. He’s putting the car into the ground, and (to) be able to crush — crush it, not crash it — it on the first lap is a great ability.”
A new era
It can be daunting walking into the sport as a rookie.
They have trained their whole lives for this moment, dreaming of reaching the pinnacle of motorsport, but dealing with the noise is a different story. Antonelli will join the grid as an 18-year-old, the third youngest F1 driver in history when he debuts in Australia, filling the vacancy left by one of the biggest names in the sport, Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli doesn’t view his promotion as replacing the seven-time world champion but as starting a new chapter in Mercedes’ storied history.
“I think it’s not possible to replace Lewis Hamilton. He’s such a great figure in the sport of today and he has achieved so much in his career. So I don’t want to be seen as his replacement – I am just the next driver for Mercedes in 2025,” Antonelli said. “I’m really excited for that. But he is a really great driver, and he has been really giving some support, so I am really happy.”
Hamilton has been with Mercedes for 12 seasons, establishing one of the longest driver-team relationships on the grid. The Briton shocked the F1 world when news broke he was moving to Ferrari from 2025. Wolff said he made up his mind on who would fill the vacancy five minutes after he spoke with Hamilton about his decision.
“We won eight constructors’ titles and six drivers’ titles together, and he is the biggest personality in the sport, with the biggest gravitas and international recognition, but he is also the one who has beaten all the records,” Wolff said. “When Lewis decided to go for another challenge, no one can replace him in all of his stature. But that doesn’t mean that the team is not going to prosper with two drivers that represent the future.”
Antonelli debriefs with Peter Bonnington at Monza. Bonnington is Hamilton’s long-time engineer and will serve the same role for Antonelli in 2025. (Pro Shots/Sipa USA)
Antonelli said he remained focused on delivering on his F2 campaign and testing of previous cars (TPC) while Wolff and Mercedes discussed his future. According to Antonelli and Wolff, he has done around 10 TPCs this year, including two at Red Bull Ring (it snowed during one), two at Barcelona, and one each at Imola, Spa and Silverstone. The team boss added, “We will continue with that, because when you look at the blueprint back in the day that Lewis gave, it was a lot of testing to prepare not only for the driving but also going through the race weekend preparation, it’s what we’ve done in the last one. So that program is going to continue.”
Mercedes did consider placing Antonelli at Williams as it did with Russell from 2019 to 2021, Wolff said. The team believed the testing program would better help Antonelli continue his F1 machinery education. Wolff added, “I think the more kilometers you do, especially in a car that is not great, the TPC car (which was the 2022 car) was not our best car, it’s going to get him between 15 and 20 days under his belt, and that’s important.”
Antonelli recently said he maybe wasn’t ready to leap to F1, but on Saturday, he said the TPC program helped him prepare. He began feeling better while driving the car and seeing improvement, such as in the long runs (which he said was a previous weak point). He admitted that he is still learning but added, “Every time I got in the car, I feel so much better.”
Mistakes happen. Plenty of the best drivers have misstepped in their careers, especially in the early days. What’s important and will shape the beginning of Antonelli’s career is how he learns and grows past his FP1 crash, making his name as part of a storied F1 team.
“That’s going to be a valuable lesson because it’s not about having fun in an F3 car in Silverstone in the rain,” Wolff said. “This is Formula One – there is a lot of responsibility that comes with it, for the best car brand in the world, for many thousands of people. And that’s why Kimi yesterday learned in a very, very hard way. I think that moment must have been very tough. And compromised George for his day and his weekend, and Kimi knows that.
“But sometimes, it needs to sting. Then it sticks.”
GO DEEPER
Why Mercedes F1 put its faith in 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli to replace Lewis Hamilton
Top photo: Sipa USA
For years, Stephen A. Smith’s many football blunders have been easy enough to explain away.
He’s not an NFL guy (remember when he said the three key players for a game were three guys who weren’t playing in the game?)
Stephen A. Smith falsely claimed the Warriors haven’t made the playoffs since 2022, but Golden State reached the second round in both 2023 and 2025. (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)
He’s definitely not a college football guy (remember when he called Jalen Milroe Jalen “Milroy” multiple times and then read the wrong stat line after a College Football Playoff game?).
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ESPN forces him into those conversations because First Take has to talk football, and Smith knows that football is the most popular sport in the country and he needs to be seen as an authority (even though he isn’t).
But Monday’s latest mistake is a lot tougher to excuse, because this time Smith wasn’t talking about the NFL or college football. He was talking about the Golden State Warriors, one of the defining NBA dynasties of the last decade.
In other words, he was talking about the sport and the league that’s supposed to be his bread and butter.
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While discussing whether Steve Kerr has coached his last game with Golden State, Smith confidently stated the Warriors “haven’t been back to the playoffs since that championship in 2022.”
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr looks on during a game against the Sacramento Kings. (Robert Edwards/Imagn Images)
That’s not even close to true. Not only did Golden State make the playoffs last season, but they also reached the postseason in 2023. Last year, the Warriors made the playoffs, beat the Rockets in seven games and advanced to the second round before losing to the Timberwolves. In 2023, they beat the Sacramento Kings in the first round and before losing to the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.
So, Smith wouldn’t even have been right if he said they haven’t won a playoff series since 2022. But he didn’t say that. He said they didn’t make the playoffs in any of the past four years, except they did it twice.
Yikes.
This is not an obscure piece of NBA trivia that Smith could be easily forgiven for not knowing. Perhaps he was too busy playing solitaire on his phone and just missed two of the past three NBA postseasons. That’s a tough look for the guy who fancies himself as the No. 1 NBA analyst in the country.
And it’s a terrible look for ESPN, as they keep selling Smith as one of the faces of their NBA coverage.
Stephen A. Smith made a brutal gaffe while talking Warriors playoff history
If Smith made this kind of mistake while talking about the NFL, nobody would be shocked. At this point, sports fans practically expect him to butcher football analysis. It’s almost endearing that a guy with the ego of Smith can be so consistently wrong while also delivering every “fact” with the utmost confidence. It’s part of the Stephen A. experience.
But this one hits differently because the NBA is where he’s supposed to at least know the basics. This is where Smith prides himself as being an authority figure.
Stephen A. Smith incorrectly stated the Golden State Warriors haven’t made the playoffs since their 2022 championship, despite the team reaching the postseason twice since then. (Candice Ward/Imagn Images)
And yet he couldn’t keep the recent playoff history of the Warriors straight. The team whose head coach is in the news every other week. The team that has won four championships since 2014. Arguably one of the most important franchises in the NBA over the past 15 years.
Yes, Golden State missed the playoffs in 2024 after getting bounced in the Play-In Tournament (although they won 46 games that season). And yes, it fell short again this season. But that’s a lot different from acting like Steve Kerr has spent four years wandering the basketball wilderness since winning that 2022 title.
He hasn’t. In fact, the team is 175-153 in the past four regular seasons.
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The Warriors made the second round in 2023. They made the second round again in 2025.
Before burying Steve Kerr on national television, maybe Stephen A. Smith could take 10 seconds to confirm whether the Warriors were actually, you know, in the playoffs.
A legendary NFL coach found linebacker Rod Martin not by scouting him at USC, but almost by accident.
The Oakland Raiders had a throwaway 12th-round pick in the 1977 draft, and then-coach John Madden grew frustrated hearing his personnel executives contemplate using it on a basketball player or track guy. Finally, Madden blurted out that he could find a random kid walking around the USC campus in sandals who could make more of an impact than that.
“Ron Wolf says, ‘All right, smart guy,’” recalled Madden’s son, Mike. “So they were a couple picks away and dad goes, ‘Let me call [USC coach] John Robinson.’”
Robinson had one question: Has Rod Martin been drafted?
Raiders linebacker Rod Martin stands on the field during a game against the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 6, 1987, at the Coliseum.
(Mike Powell / Getty Images)
“Dad goes, ‘What position does he play?’” the younger Madden said. “Robinson tells him Martin is a linebacker, and dad goes, ‘Good. Tough guy we can knock around in training camp. Have him run down on kicks.’ And Robinson says, ‘No, John. Rod Martin will make your team.’”
Martin did a lot more than make the team. He would go on to set a Super Bowl record with three interceptions in one of the most dominant defensive performances in championship history.
Martin, who would play his entire 12-year career with the Oakland then Los Angeles Raiders, is dead at age 72. The Raiders announced his death Monday but did not specify a cause of death.
“The Raiders family is deeply saddened by the passing of Rod Martin, a standout linebacker and key player on two Super Bowl championship teams,” read a team statement.
The franchise called Martin, “a beloved member of the Raiders Family and a favorite of Raiders fans everywhere.”
A two-time Super Bowl winner and a two-time Pro Bowl selection, Martin saved his best game for the biggest stage. In Super Bowl XV at the Louisiana Superdome, he intercepted Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski three times in a 27-10 Raiders victory.
“What I remember about Rod was his ability to diagnose and react,” Jaworski said by phone Monday. “In the Super Bowl, he makes two phenomenal plays. He has three interceptions, but interceptions one and two — I’d like to say they were bad decisions on my part. They weren’t. I tried to squeeze throws in. He just made a great play. He was a great athlete.”
Three years later, Martin was still a key component to the Raiders’ defense in a Super Bowl victory over Washington. He had a sack of quarterback Joe Theismann, a fumble recovery, and a fourth-and-one stop of John Riggins late in the third quarter of a 38-9 blowout.
Born in Welch, W. Va., the son of a coal miner grew up in Los Angeles and attended Hamilton High before going on to play at Los Angeles City College and USC. The NFL saw him as a tweener, too small for linebacker at 210 pounds and too slow to play safety. Clearly, that was a faulty assessment.
Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon was two years behind Martin at Hamilton, and the two remained friends throughout the decades that followed.
“We met when I was a sophomore,” Moon said. “He was a senior — middle linebacker, fullback and center on the basketball team. He was the ultimate athlete. At the time I was there, I looked up to him quite a lot.
“He wasn’t the biggest guy in the world, but he was big enough. He had the strongest hands and the strongest forearms. He could just take a tight end or whoever came to block him, grab his pads, shove him off and go make the play. He was just a real solid player.”
It was those hands that grabbed an opportunity with the Raiders and didn’t let go.
“So dad goes marching into the draft room,” Madden said, “looks at Ron and everybody else and says, ‘We’re going to take Rod Martin, linebacker, USC.’ And they did.”
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New details have emerged surrounding the arrest of former Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch, who is facing two misdemeanor charges following a run-in with law enforcement just days ahead of the NFL Draft.
Branch, who is a projected second-round pick, was arrested early Sunday morning in Athens, Georgia, and charged with two counts of obstructing public sidewalks/streets – prowling and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Zachariah Branch celebrates after a touchdown catch against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Nov. 28, 2025. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)
He was released after more than two hours in jail after posting $39 in bonds.
The NFL Network obtained the police report from Branch’s arrest, which described an encounter over an alleged sidewalk incident with law enforcement, in which police alleged that the former Bulldogs star failed “to comply with multiple verbal lawful commands.”
“A male, later identified as Zacharia Branch, continued to stand on the sidewalk without making an attempt to move. I continued to give Zacharia Branch verbal commands to move from blocking the sidewalk and advised that if he did not, he would receive a citation for blocking the sidewalk,” the excerpt from the report read.
Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch runs during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 28, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
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“Zacharia Branch smirked, then stepped backwards and to the right, then remained standing upon the public sidewalk, so as to obstruct, hinder, and impede free passage upon the sidewalk as well as impede free ingress/egress to or from the adjacent places of business,” the report continued.
“Due to those actions and Zacharia Branch’s failure to comply with multiple verbal lawful commands, he was placed under arrest for misdemeanor Obstruction of LEO and received a citation for Obstructing Public Sidewalks.”
Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch celebrates with wide receiver Colbie Young after scoring a touchdown against Ole Miss during the Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Jan. 1, 2026. (IMAGN)
Branch transferred after two seasons at Southern California and immediately became quarterback Gunner Stockton’s favorite target. He finished the season with a team-high 811 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.
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His status as a projected second-round pick was bolstered after an impressive showing at the combine, where he clocked a 4.35-second 40-yard dash.
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