Ted Kravitz says one F1 team think their 17-year-old driver is the next Charles Leclerc

Follow us on Google Discover

Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz has suggested that Mercedes believes Kimi Antonelli has the potential to be as good as Charles Leclerc or even Max Verstappen.

The discussion over who will replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2025 season is going to dominate the conversation throughout the upcoming Formula 1 campaign.

Asked about who might replace the seven-time world champion on Sky Sports, Kravitz explained his understanding of the situation.

Kravitz says Mercedes think Antonelli could be the next Leclerc

The race to replace Lewis Hamilton is going to be fascinating this season and plenty of drivers would love to drive for the Silver Arrows.

Carlos Sainz is the only current driver who knows he needs to find a new seat on the grid for 2025 and will have one eye on what Toto Wolff is doing.

There are also several reserve drivers within Mercedes ranks who might suddenly sniff an opportunity to drive for a top F1 team.

Mick Schumacher has been linked to the drive by his uncle Ralf but after two average seasons with Haas, he’s going to need to do something special in the WEC this year to convince the team he’s ready to step up.

Frederik Vesti is another driver who wants to be in F1 but after finishing runner-up in F2 last year, it’s unlikely he’ll be offered the chance given 2023 champion Theo Pourchaire can’t get on the grid either.

Both drivers may end up being leapfrogged by 17-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli who Ted Kravitz suggests is being compared to Charles Leclerc by Mercedes.

He hasn’t even completed his first race in Formula 2 and skipped F3 completely, putting huge pressure on the Italian teenager.

However, hopes are incredibly high for Antonelli and Mercedes may have to give him the seat to avoid another team snatching him at the end of the year.

Pressure already building on Antonelli in 2024

Speaking about who might replace Hamilton, Kravitz said: “There are so many options for Mercedes and quite a lot of them are quite good.

“Obviously the most exciting from Mercedes’ point of view is to put Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the car because they feel he is the next Max Verstappen or Charles Leclerc, he’s that promising.

“At the same time, they’ll only know that when he completes at least half a full Formula 2 season, and I believe Toto Wolff when he says that we have to be careful to treat him like a 17-year-old still growing up and not try to rush him too early. It might do more harm than good.”

If Antonelli is the next Leclerc or Verstappen as Kravitz has relayed, then Mercedes have to give him his chance if he performs in Formula 2.

But to suggest he’s the right choice before he’s ever completed a race as part of a Formula 1 weekend seems premature.

The other option is at the other end of the experience spectrum, with Fernando Alonso potentially the team’s Plan B.

There may be an unusual amount of interest in Friday’s first F2 race in Bahrain this year.