Kimi Antonelli explains how Ferrari missed out on signing him before he joined Mercedes

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The decision by Mercedes to promote Kimi Antonelli into Lewis Hamilton’s race seat for 2025 would have sounded crazy just 12 months ago.

At the time, Kimi Antonelli was still fighting to win the Formula Regional Championship – known as FRECA – against other teenagers, some of whom had since been promoted to Formula 3.

Antonelli not only won the championship but then went on to skip that step, immediately racing with Prema in F2 alongside Oliver Bearman.

READ MORE: Who is 2025 Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli? Everything to know

Joshua Durksen was the only other driver to make that jump, and while the Paraguayan has also impressed for AIX, Antonelli has been the name on everyone’s lips.

Mercedes have managed Antonelli’s career closely and it was a conscious decision to leapfrog F3 as they knew that they may need the 18-year-old to be ready for Formula 1 next year.

However, Antonelli could have been navigating the junior formulas with the support of Ferrari had things gone differently.

In an interview with ESPN, the Italian youngster explains how his route to F1 intertwined with Ferrari from an early age.

The quick thinking of Mercedes and Toto Wolff meant they secured his future unlike when they missed out on Max Verstappen earlier in his career.

Kimi Antonelli explains how Mercedes signed him ahead of Ferrari

For one of Italy’s most exciting prospects to be missed – or even overlooked – by Ferrari is very surprising.

The last Italian to race in F1 was Antonio Giovinazzi, and the last Italians to race for Ferrari were Luca Badoer and Giancarlo Fisichella when they replaced the injured Felipe Massa in 2009.

Antonelli grew up within an hour of Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters but wasn’t on the team’s radar.

This is even more surprising when considering that Antonelli admitted during his early karting career, that he had a connection with the team, explaining: “Tony Kart was the main team, supported by Ferrari.

“But to be honest there was not much contact. I don’t really remember exactly because I was like 11.

“We weren’t really in contact, but eventually we got the call from Mercedes and we had no doubts and just accepted.”

Wolff has paid tribune to Gwen Lagrue for finding Antonelli and could be even more pleased with his discovery if he lives up to his lofty expectations.

Why Mercedes are so excited about Kimi Antonelli

When Mercedes discovered that Hamilton was leaving at the end of the season, dozens of established drivers would have jumped at the chance of replacing him.

Carlos Sainz was on Mercedes’s radar given he was losing his seat at Ferrari to accommodate the seven-time world champion, but Wolff was insistent that Antonelli was the man for the job.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes AMG F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Antonelli started testing some of Mercedes’s older F1 cars earlier this year to prepare for a potential promotion.

Mercedes were immediately impressed with Antonelli’s performances and that gave them confidence that he was ready to make the step up.

His first outing at Monza in FP1 didn’t go to plan, ending up in the barrier on his second flying lap.

Wolff will be glad that Antonelli made that mistake in a session that didn’t impact his running, although George Russell wasn’t pleased with seeing his car damaged so badly.