17-year-old Italian racing sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli is quickly becoming the talk of the paddock in Formula 1. With a possible seat at Williams up for grabs, team principal James Vowles has opened the doors at Grove for the Mercedes junior. However, Vowles made it clear that Antonelli will need to prove himself if he wants that seat.
Last year, Vowles refused to induct another Mercedes junior, Mick Schumacher. Williams are a Mercedes customer team and, hence, most likely have certain obligations to fulfill. However, despite also having close ties with Toto Wolff, the ex-Mercedes motorsport strategy director has a clear vision for his team going forward.
Vowles was quoted by Autosport as explaining, “From my perspective, I have no doubt that Kimi will be in F1. He’s done incredibly well in his junior series. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be in Williams, necessarily.”
Kimi Antonelli reportedly has went seconds faster than rivals in a F2 test session in F3 cars.
If Mercedes don’t want to force Antonelli to make the jump to Merc next year Albon could be a more viable replacement, giving Kimi less pressure in a Williams seat next year instead. pic.twitter.com/m833lp8jeC
— Vice (@f1guy1312) February 4, 2024
Vowles isn’t the kind to bow down to hype or a word of recommendation. While the Briton is all for placing faith in youth, he is only going to “take people on merit into the organization.” With Logan Sargeant in his make-or-break sophomore year in the sport with the team, 2025 could see a vacant seat at Williams if the American fails to impress once again.
Moreover, with the 2024 silly season shaping up quite nicely, there is bound to be immense interest in Alex Albon’s services. The Thai driver had a stellar campaign behind the wheel of the FW45 last year and helped the team finish seventh in the Constructors’ Championship.
Alex Albon is likely to be the busiest driver during F1’s silly season
Alex Albon is one of the hottest properties on the driver’s market currently. Now, into his fifth full-time season in the sport, he has the right mix of youth, pace, and experience that many top teams would pay handsomely for.
Even after his one-off Monza heroics back in 2022, Nyck de Vries was denied Albon’s seat at Williams, for whom he was actually filling in for at the Italian GP. De Vries was then inducted by AlphaTauri (now VCARB) but his hype soon fizzled away as he was replaced mid-season by the returning Daniel Ricciardo.
Mercedes:
George Russell + Alex AlbonMost definitely the hottest vacant seat on the grid for 2025 is Merc’s.
Hamilton’s departure makes Albon’s return to one of the fastest teams very realistic as his stellar Williams performances continue.
Russell stays until at least 2026. pic.twitter.com/PYxxugXGjv
— Jack Mayfield (@JournoJackMay) February 20, 2024
Albon, on the other hand, repaid the trust Williams had put in him. In 2023, the #23 driver scored a solid 27 points to single-handedly guide the team to a seventh-place finish in the Constructors’ championship – their highest finish since 2017.
Since Vowles’ arrival, the iconic British team has on many occasions expressed its intentions of climbing back to the top of the F1 grid. Naturally, they cannot do this by being consigned as Mercedes’ obliging customer team and Vowles knows it.
