Mercedes could place ‘sensational’ 17-y/o at Williams in George Russell repeat

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Mercedes could now echo George Russell’s career and secure Andrea Kimi Antonelli a Formula 1 seat with Williams for 2025 if he is not yet ready to replace Lewis Hamilton.

The Silver Arrows are keen to get Antonelli an F1 drive next year if the 17-year-old impresses in his rookie Formula 2 campaign. Mercedes have fast-tracked the Italian’s rise up the junior categories by skipping Formula 3 and securing him Frederik Vesti’s vacated seat with Prema.

Vesti will not return to F2 with Mercedes giving their other junior driver a reserve role as well as Mick Schumacher in 2024. The 22-year-old finished as the runner-up to Sauber protégé Theo Pourchaire in 2023. He missed out on the title by 11 points through his second season.

Mercedes could secure Andrea Kimi Antonelli a Formula 1 drive in 2025

But Mercedes do not plan on letting Antonelli be in Formula 2 for long. Mark Hughes of The Race notes that the Italian may be Formula 1-bound as soon as 2025. The Silver Arrows will monitor his results in the feeder series this season with the aim of another rapid promotion.

Mercedes are considering Antonelli as a possible replacement to Hamilton following the 39-year-old’s decision to join Ferrari from 2025. But if Brackley bosses decide he is not ready to race for the factory team, Mercedes may explore their links with Williams for a seat in 2025.

Williams have bought Mercedes power units since the start of F1’s turbo-hybrid era in 2014. The Grove squad also hired Russell to race with them from 2019 to 2021 before he replaced Valtteri Bottas beside Hamilton. It also marked Mercedes junior Russell’s debut in Formula 1.

Mercedes had long sought to find Russell a Formula 1 drive after he won the GP3 Series title as a rookie in 2017 then the Formula 2 title in 2018. Now, history could repeat itself in 2025 with Mercedes getting a seat at Williams for Antonelli if he is not ready to replace Hamilton.

Williams boss James Vowles already knows Andrea Kimi Antonelli well

Hughes adds that Mercedes will likely seek a similar agreement for Antonelli to the one that saw Russell join Williams. The 25-year-old remained closely affiliated with the Silver Arrows by attending technical briefings and doing simulator work whilst racing for the Grove squad.

Antonelli is already a junior series champion, having won the German and Italian F4 titles in 2022 with Prema. He even won the Formula Regional European Championship in 2023 with the junior team. The Italian further secured the Formula Regional Middle East title last year.

Now, Antonelli is already impressing F1 folk with Sky Sports pundit Karun Chandhok lauding the youngster after thriving at a recent test with Formula 3 cars. The ex-HRT driver told The Fast and the Curious that he even texted Williams’ team principal, James Vowles, about him.

“He was alongside two other drivers and it was raining,” Chandhok said. “He was something like seven or eight seconds a lap faster than the other drivers. I went back and chatted with some of the engineers and they just could not believe how good he was.

“He’s 17. He’s a teenager. Honestly, I parked up on the way out and watched a few laps. This kid was sensational. I texted James Vowles from there because James sort of mentored Kimi since go-karts. I went ‘This kid is amazing’ and he said ‘Yeah, I’ve been telling you for years’.”