Mercedes has made a decision: Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the successor to Lewis Hamilton, who will leave for Ferrari after this season. The Italian, who is just 18 years old, will join George Russell in 2025 and thus complete his rapid rise to the top of motorsport at a young age. But why is this highly regarded top talent already being given the chance?
Born on August 25 in Italy, Antonelli was introduced to motorsport almost immediately by his father Marco, who himself raced in a number of GT championships. Antonelli competed in karts championships for a number of years and quickly rose through the ranks. In fact, the talent won several titles, including the CIK-FIA European Championship in the OK class. Antonelli thus joined an exclusive list of winners that includes Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.
It was therefore not surprising that his talent was noticed at Mercedes. The Silver Arrows added Antonelli to the junior program in 2019, after which he made his debut in the Italian Formula 4 in the second half of 2021. Antonelli particularly impressed during the final round of the championship in Monza, where he scored three podium finishes in three races.
Antonelli continued to compete in Italian Formula 4 the following season, dominating with 13 wins, 15 podiums, 14 pole positions and 14 fastest laps. He eventually won the title with 104 points and competed in the related ADAC Formula 4 championship, where dominance was similarly evident.
Text continues below the image.
Fast
Things then moved very quickly. In early 2023, Antonelli took part in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship during the European winter break and won another title. He also focused on the Formula Regional European Championship, where he won the championship again with a consistent series of strong results.
Towards the end of 2023, it was announced that Antonelli would skip Formula 3 altogether and move straight to Formula 2. The Italian immediately became a contender for the Mercedes seat in early February when Hamilton announced his departure. At the time, Antonelli still seemed like an outsider, but as other contenders fell away, the Mercedes junior’s name came up more and more.
And although the PREMA team is struggling in Formula 2, Antonelli still managed to take two victories this year. In addition, Mercedes put together an extensive test program in older Formula 1 cars for Antonelli, which allowed him to gain a lot of experience. Now that Toto Wolff has ended the hunt for Max Verstappen, the opportunity for the top talent follows immediately. Antonelli will complete the Formula 2 season and test program and thus prepare for his debut with Mercedes in 2025.