Mercedes may follow in the footsteps of Red Bull by selecting a young driver to replace Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 Formula 1 season. Kimi Antonelli, a 17-year-old member of the Mercedes junior program, is being strongly considered for the role. Despite his age, Antonelli has already shown great promise and has been promoted to Formula 2. With Hamilton’s impending departure to Ferrari, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff faces the challenging task of finding a suitable replacement for the six-time world champion. Antonelli, who shares his name with 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, joined the Mercedes junior program in 2019 and has achieved impressive results in various racing series, including winning titles in the Formula Regional European and Middle East Championships in 2023. Unlike Max Verstappen, Antonelli will skip Formula 3 and make his debut in Formula 2 in 2024 with Prema Racing. If he performs well in the feeder series, it is not out of the question that Antonelli could be chosen to fill Hamilton’s shoes at Mercedes.
Antonelli has already made a strong impression during testing, with race engineers praising his performance and drawing comparisons to Verstappen. Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok spoke with engineers who worked with Antonelli during a private test day and they regarded him as the best driver in an F3 car since Verstappen’s time in the series in 2014. Chandhok also highlighted the success of McLaren’s decision to promote rookie Lewis Hamilton in 2007, suggesting that Antonelli could follow a similar path. Despite his lack of experience and young age, there is a possibility that Antonelli could join Mercedes in 2025 as George Russell’s teammate.
Taking such a risk is not unprecedented in Formula 1. Toro Rosso gave Verstappen a seat at the age of 17, and McLaren made bold choices by selecting Hamilton and Fernando Alonso to replace Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya in 2007. Antonelli could soon join this list of young drivers making a leap into F1.
According to the Source total-motorsport.com