The Mercedes driver academy has seen the likes of George Russell and Esteban Ocon come up through the ranks to reach Formula 1. Currently, Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli has been touted as the next best thing by fans. However, it is not just the fans, but also Mercedes themselves, who have immense faith in the talent of Antonelli, and thus, he will be skipping F3 to fight for the F2 title next season.
Antonelli has had a spectacular 2022 season, participating in various F4 championships around the world. Out of these, he managed to win the Italian F4 championship title after managing to win an impressive 13 races in a 20-race season. He also won the ADAC F4 title after winning 9 out of the 15 races in the season.
Antonelli took part in the F4 UAE Championship where he won two races in total. He also managed to win the 2022 FIA Motorsports Games in the F4 category. All of these victories resulted in Mercedes believing that the 18 year old is capable of jumping into Formula 2 straightaway. This might also be a sign of better things to come for Antonelli because he might be a potential candidate for Mercedes soon.
Kimi Antonelli would be racing in F2 with PREMA
Ahead of the much anticipated Italian GP, as per a report by motorsport.it, news regarding Antonelli skipping F3 started to spread around the paddock. The wonderkid is set to join PREMA, one of the strongest teams on the F2 grid.
🚨 Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli will race in Formula 2 for PREMA in 2024!
Mercedes believes in the 18 year old so much that he will skip Formula 3 😳
[@Motorsport_IT] pic.twitter.com/xtJXyWtfd7
— Mercedes-AMG F1 News (@MercedesNewsUK) September 2, 2023
Another important aspect of this move is that Antonelli would be stepping up to F2 in the year when they will start using the brand new cars that were revealed in Monza. This means that all the teams and drivers will start off on equal footing and that might be an advantage for the Italian star kid.
Mercedes might be looking at their long term situation by promoting Antonelli to F2. Both George Russel and Lewis Hamilton have their contracts ending in 2025 and even if Russell re-signs with them, Hamilton would be 40 by then and could leave.
A future in F1 with Mercedes might be on the cards
The 2025 season will see a vacancy opening up in Mercedes. The Brackley-based outfit are probably preparing Antonelli for this spot. If he manages to continue his current run of form and prove his worth in the F2 field, then getting into F1 should not be too much of a problem for him.
With Mercedes not being able to fight for the championship, even Russell might not choose to stay with the team post 2025. In that case, it becomes even easier for Antonelli to step into F1, provided he can put in some good performances in F2.
