Ever since Lewis Hamilton announced that he would be leaving Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025, rumors have claimed that the Silver Arrows are considering replacing the Briton with Andrea Kimi Antonelli. To prepare the Italian prodigy for life in F1, several reports claimed that Mercedes have been in discussions with their customer team Williams to give the teenager a chance on their side. These reports have claimed that Antonelli could replace the struggling Logan Sargeant.
Amid such reports, Antonelli’s father has claimed that he would prefer his son to remain in F2 than get a sudden jump to F1. When asked what would be his course of action if his son’s future depended entirely on him, Antonelli’s father replied (as quoted by fanpage.it),
“I would like him to complete the season in Formula 2. As a family, we are not used to leaving things halfway. Then Kimi in recent years, in other championships as well as in karting, has repeatedly shown that he is able to overturn difficult situations”.
Antonelli may indeed end up finishing his season in F2 this year as Williams have confirmed that they are not interested in signing the current Prema Racing driver as a potential replacement for the underperforming Sargeant. Williams team principal James Vowles confirmed that his side are more keen on improving his side’s performances instead.
Vowles then used the example of Alex Albon to explain why Sargeant’s struggles are not the primary concern for Williams at the moment. “We have far bigger problems to solve than drivers at the moment. Alex has done championship-level drives and at the moment he’s not scoring points,” Vowles explained.
Irrespective of whether Williams are actually interested in signing Antonelli or not, it is pertinent to note that they cannot sign the Italian until August. Antonelli will turn 18 that month, an age required by drivers to secure an F1 drive.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli could secure Mercedes seat in 2025
If Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s performances are of an acceptable standard this season in F2, Mercedes could give him a chance in 2025. However, if that happens, then the Italian teenager would be filling the big boots of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.
This would result in Antonelli carrying a huge weight on his shoulders as this would mean that he would be replacing arguably the greatest of all time in his very first season in F1. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff himself has commented upon the same.
The Austrian explained in an interview earlier this year that he himself is guilty of hyping the 17-year-old. As per Wolff, praising Antonelli too much at this tender age of his is likely to do no good as it would just result in unnecessary pressure on him.
However, Wolff did make it clear that Antonelli is very talented and it is a matter of when rather than if the Italian makes it to F1. Wolff’s remarks seem to suggest that he is definitely open to the idea of having Antonelli drive for Mercedes at some point but may not be as early as 2025.
