Kimi Antonelli will soon be a Mercedes F1 driver, as per the German publication RTL. The incumbent F2 driver will take over the regular driver duties from 2025. The move does not come as a surprise as the Italian prodigy emerged as Mercedes’ first choice from the beginning. His name surfaced as soon as Lewis Hamilton announced his decision to join Ferrari in 2025.
While Toto Wolff admitted Hamilton’s decision did not come as a surprise, the timing of the announcement certainly did. In 2023, the Austrian manager warned Mercedes to pull up their socks or be prepared to lose their star driver.
That was because Wolff was well aware of Hamilton’s ambition to win his eighth world championship. As Wolff didn’t see that happening with the Silver Arrows, Ferrari was the only other option. Despite the move not being a surprise, Wolff had a mess to deal with.
That was the headache of finding the replacement for a man of Hamilton’s caliber. From Fernando Alonso to Carlos Sainz, all the heavyweights drew links to the Brackley outfit. However, as time passed, Alonso signed a long-term extension with Aston Martin. Sainz, meanwhile, still remains uncertain of his future.
[rtl_formel1] (on IG): Kimi Antonelli in a Mercedes from 2025! The 17-year-old will be Hamilton’s successor. According to RTL information, the Mercedes driver pairing for 2025 has also been finalised!
byu/Roddy-the-Ruin informula1
All this delay played out perfectly for Antonelli who impressed the team during his test runs. The 17-year-old got behind the wheel of Mercedes’ 2021 and 2022 cars in April, and as per reports, was quick enough to earn a contract.
What also played in his hands was his association with Mercedes’ driver academy. It is no secret how much Wolff rues missing out on signing Max Verstappen in his early years. Hence, Wolff was certainly not going to miss out on Antonelli, given the similarities he shares with the Dutchman.
Kimi Antonelli not the only F2 driver to earn a promotion
2024 is the first season in F1’s history to not feature a single rookie on the grid. However, that is going to change with not one but two rookies ready to join the big names in F1 in 2025.
While Antonelli is one, the other one is likely to be his F2 Prema teammate Oliver Bearman. As per reports, the young Briton has already signed a deal with the Haas F1 team to replace outbound Nico Hulkenberg. If Kevin Magnussen continues on a disappointing path, the Dane might lose his seat too.
Bearman was mighty impressive in his one-off race as a replacement for an ailing Sainz. The P7 finish in Jeddah earned him multiple FP1 appearances and has tipped the chances in his favor to land a regular seat in 2025.
