George Russell was left unhappy when Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli broke the golden rule of Formula 1 by crashing on his debut.

The 18-year-old took to the track for the first time on Italian Grand Prix weekend in Monza, but spun out at the Parabolica corner 10 minutes in - before crashing into the wall and ending his session early. After the rookie error, the Italian teenager admitted that Russell wasn't happy with his performance, but insisted the pair have a good relationship.

Speaking to Sky Italia, Antonelli said: "[Russell] was not very happy, but before going out at the Parabolica I was going strong. With George I have a good relationship, he did not give me much advice, but for now everything is fine. But next year I want to beat him."

Meanwhile, former Haas F1 Principal Guenther Steiner had more to say on the crash, telling the Red Flags podcast that Antonelli's "idiot" move is a worse fate than finishing last on your debut. Speaking to podcast hosts Matt Elisofon and Brian Muller, Steiner was asked by Elisofon: "What's the number one rule - the first thing you tell an F2 guy that's taking over your car?"

The F1 veteran replied: "Don't crash it," adding: "If you crash it, you will be remembered as the guy - bracket open, idiot, bracket closed - which crashed the car in his first FP1. If you finish second-last, last, third-last, fifth-last, eleventh in FP1 nobody really cares - everybody will have forgotten where you finished cause nobody cares in FP1 where you finish. So don't crash it because everybody will remember it."

Despite this initial error, Antonelli will partner with Russell at Mercedes in 2025 following Lewis Hamilton's surprise move to Ferrari. Speculation had been rife over who Russell's new partner might be before Antonelli was finally announced.
Antonelli made quite the blunder at the Italian GP (
Image:
Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Antonelli's move to Mercedes was announced at the Italian GP, and the young driver has confessed that the reality of his upcoming season in F1 hasn't fully hit him yet. The Italian teenager said: "I haven't realised yet that I will drive in F1, maybe I will in Melbourne.

"It will be very exciting, but at the moment, I'm just thinking about working on myself. For sure it will be important to stay calm, trying not to think about anything other than what you have to do, concentrating on the start and trying to visualise the different situations. The butterflies in my stomach will be there but I will try to focus on what to do."

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