Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director at Mercedes, additionally acknowledged the dearth of preparation that the rookies – together with Silver Arrows racer Antonelli – have had prior to creating their debuts on the grid.
“It is fairly spectacular the best way that lots of them can go from F2 or different feeder sequence straight into F1 and carry out at an excellent stage,” Shovlin defined. “To be sincere, we’ve had a lot deal with Kimi, we haven’t actually been taking a look at everybody else.
“With Kimi, we’re measuring him by the place he’s in comparison with George [Russell], the place he’s in comparison with the opposite drivers within the high groups. However yeah, there’s clearly lots of expertise there.
“It’s tough for them – while you’ve obtained one and a half days in Bahrain to get used to the brand new automotive, then you definitely’re thrown into a number of the conditions we have had – the moist race in Melbourne, tough circuits like China and Suzuka.
“They’re all fairly difficult tracks. However I feel it’s fairly thrilling for the game to have so many new names coming into it.”
