Mercedes F1’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli prepares to succeed, not replace, Lewis Hamilton

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MONZA, Italy — Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Formula One practice debut was over nearly as quickly as it started.

The 18-year-old driver topped the timesheets early during first practice ahead of the Italian Grand Prix; however, he soon lost control through Parabolica, the high-speed Turn 11, crashing into the tire barriers. The Formula Two driver was okay and walked away feeling like he learned a lesson “in a tough way.”

“I learned that I cannot go flat out looking for the limit straight away. Especially looking back, the track was very slippery. The grip was quite a bit lower than expected,” Antonelli said. “I was pushing too hard, for sure. For the next few times, I will just try to build the run more progressively instead of just trying to find the limit.”

Antonelli owned the mistake, but it came less than 24 hours before Mercedes announced the Italian would complete its 2025 driver lineup, making Antonelli the third confirmed rookie for next season.

Antonelli experienced a rapid rise through the junior categories, including skipping a few stops along the way. His crash in FP1 wouldn’t have been the first time skeptics have wondered: is Antonelli, who turned 18 only a week ago, ready for the step up to F1?

Mercedes feels so.

“As a driver, you have the speed or you don’t have the speed. I’m very confident that Kimi has the speed. Everybody on their journey is going to make mistakes,” George Russell said Saturday. “That’s part of life and part of this sport. I have no doubt Kimi will learn from yesterday, but he’s definitely got the speed to help Mercedes get back to the front of the grid for next year and onwards, and that’s exactly why he’s going to be alongside me in the car next year.”

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Antonelli’s background

Antonelli’s ascent to F1 is similar to that of reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman went straight from Formula Three to an F1 seat in 2015, becoming the youngest driver to ever start a grand prix at age 17. Antonelli skipped F3 altogether and went straight to F2 in 2024 after being crowned champion in Formula Regional Europe and Formula Regional Middle East last year. It came after four consecutive title victories, dating back to 2020 (European karting twice, ADAC F4 and Italian F4).

Skipping a step in the motorsport ladder and fast-tracking a driver’s career isn’t the typical Mercedes approach. With Russell, for example, he competed at every level — F4, F3, F2 – before reaching F1. But as Antonelli ascended, skepticism followed.

Spectators and the media will likely analyze any mistake the young driver makes, particularly when racing for a front-running team.

“One of the main factors is that when you know you have a team like Mercedes around you that really believe in you, and they have been believing in me from a really young age, it really helps you to feel and to cope with this pressure really well,” Antonelli said when asked how he’s preparing to cope with the pressure.

Marco Antonelli and Andrea Kimi Antonelli after Formula 2 Sprint Race at Silverstone Circuit in Northampton, Great Britain on July 6, 2024. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“Even though sometimes I still don’t cope with that perfectly, I still get the right support from Mercedes but also from my family, so I’m really happy to be with them and really happy with the support they’ve been giving me. Not only in the past but nowadays.”

Antonelli was born in Bologna and comes from a family where both parents are involved in his career, a father (who has experience racing in European touring cars) with strong racing knowledge and a mother who continues to be supportive, Wolff said.

The Mercedes team boss discussed how humility and loyalty are essential qualities for the 18-year-old, sharing that the family remained committed to Mercedes despite rival teams pursuing him. “Marco Antonelli has always been clear: ‘You gave us the opportunity, and that’s why we are sticking with you.’”

And then, there’s Antonelli’s raw talent. There are qualities that you can’t teach a driver, and Wolff reiterated how “it’s easier to make someone calm down in terms of aggressiveness than the other way around.”

“James Allison actually said when (Antonelli) launched himself at the first lap (on Friday), the first braking into the chicane, he had both tires into the grass already,” Wolff continued. “So the difference between free practice and qualifying we have to discuss!

“But that’s also Kimi. He’s putting the car into the ground, and (to) be able to crush — crush it, not crash it — it on the first lap is a great ability.”

A new era

It can be daunting walking into the sport as a rookie.

They have trained their whole lives for this moment, dreaming of reaching the pinnacle of motorsport, but dealing with the noise is a different story. Antonelli will join the grid as an 18-year-old, the third youngest F1 driver in history when he debuts in Australia, filling the vacancy left by one of the biggest names in the sport, Lewis Hamilton.

Antonelli doesn’t view his promotion as replacing the seven-time world champion but as starting a new chapter in Mercedes’ storied history.

“I think it’s not possible to replace Lewis Hamilton. He’s such a great figure in the sport of today and he has achieved so much in his career. So I don’t want to be seen as his replacement – I am just the next driver for Mercedes in 2025,” Antonelli said. “I’m really excited for that. But he is a really great driver, and he has been really giving some support, so I am really happy.”

Hamilton has been with Mercedes for 12 seasons, establishing one of the longest driver-team relationships on the grid. The Briton shocked the F1 world when news broke he was moving to Ferrari from 2025. Wolff said he made up his mind on who would fill the vacancy five minutes after he spoke with Hamilton about his decision.

“We won eight constructors’ titles and six drivers’ titles together, and he is the biggest personality in the sport, with the biggest gravitas and international recognition, but he is also the one who has beaten all the records,” Wolff said. “When Lewis decided to go for another challenge, no one can replace him in all of his stature. But that doesn’t mean that the team is not going to prosper with two drivers that represent the future.”

Antonelli debriefs with Peter Bonnington at Monza. Bonnington is Hamilton’s long-time engineer and will serve the same role for Antonelli in 2025. (Pro Shots/Sipa USA)

Antonelli said he remained focused on delivering on his F2 campaign and testing of previous cars (TPC) while Wolff and Mercedes discussed his future. According to Antonelli and Wolff, he has done around 10 TPCs this year, including two at Red Bull Ring (it snowed during one), two at Barcelona, and one each at Imola, Spa and Silverstone. The team boss added, “We will continue with that, because when you look at the blueprint back in the day that Lewis gave, it was a lot of testing to prepare not only for the driving but also going through the race weekend preparation, it’s what we’ve done in the last one. So that program is going to continue.”

Mercedes did consider placing Antonelli at Williams as it did with Russell from 2019 to 2021, Wolff said. The team believed the testing program would better help Antonelli continue his F1 machinery education. Wolff added, “I think the more kilometers you do, especially in a car that is not great, the TPC car (which was the 2022 car) was not our best car, it’s going to get him between 15 and 20 days under his belt, and that’s important.”

Antonelli recently said he maybe wasn’t ready to leap to F1, but on Saturday, he said the TPC program helped him prepare. He began feeling better while driving the car and seeing improvement, such as in the long runs (which he said was a previous weak point). He admitted that he is still learning but added, “Every time I got in the car, I feel so much better.”

Mistakes happen. Plenty of the best drivers have misstepped in their careers, especially in the early days. What’s important and will shape the beginning of Antonelli’s career is how he learns and grows past his FP1 crash, making his name as part of a storied F1 team.

“That’s going to be a valuable lesson because it’s not about having fun in an F3 car in Silverstone in the rain,” Wolff said. “This is Formula One – there is a lot of responsibility that comes with it, for the best car brand in the world, for many thousands of people. And that’s why Kimi yesterday learned in a very, very hard way. I think that moment must have been very tough. And compromised George for his day and his weekend, and Kimi knows that.

“But sometimes, it needs to sting. Then it sticks.”