Scenes From Behind the Curtain Suggest Kimi Antonelli Could Be One Step Closer to Mercedes Move

Ever since Lewis Hamilton announced that he would leave Mercedes at the end of 2024 to join Ferrari, Toto Wolff has been left with a huge task to find a worthy replacement for the Briton. One name that has constantly been linked with Hamilton’s seat is Mercedes junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli. And recent behind-the-scenes images on social media suggest that the Italian is one step closer to making his F1 debut with the Silver Arrows.

According to an Instagram post from f1gossippofficial, Kimi Antonelli was recently spotted going for a meeting in the Mercedes hospitality at the Red Bull Ring. He was accompanied by team principal Toto Wolff and the head of the Mercedes driver program, Gwen Lagrue.

With all the speculations surrounding the Italian’s move to the Brackley-based squad, this meeting could have been a step toward realizing his dream of one day racing for Mercedes in F1. However, Mercedes isn’t the only team the 17-year-old has been linked with.

Many experts believe that Toto Wolff could ask Williams to take on the junior driver for a season or two. If that happens, it will be a move similar to how George Russell was loaned to Williams before he got his shot at Mercedes.

Moreover, Antonelli could find himself in that Williams seat even before he turns 18 later in August. The FIA recently granted an exemption for Antonelli to let him compete in F1 even though he is not 18 yet.

Reports suggested that an F1 team had approached the governing body to make this particular rule change. However, if Antonelli does end up at Williams, it could also make way for another top-tier talent to join Mercedes.

Carlos Sainz would consider joining Mercedes if they held back Antonelli for 2 years

Carlos Sainz, the driver being replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, is also looking for a seat at a top team like Mercedes in 2025. However, the lack of a long-term deal has forced him to delay his decision for now.

However, the Spaniard recently liked a post on X that suggested Mercedes should give him a two-year deal by loaning Kimi Antonelli to Williams for two seasons. This will allow the Italian driver to gain much-needed experience in Formula 1 before joining a front-runner team like Mercedes.

At the same time, it will also allow Sainz to negotiate the long-term (1+1) deal he wants with Mercedes before he can gauge Audi’s performance in their first year in the sport in 2026. Sauber (soon to become Audi) has also shown a great deal of interest in signing Sainz, but the Spaniard has not yet confirmed his interest in the project.