The ‘gut feeling’ Martin Brundle has about Kimi Antonelli as Mercedes announcement looms

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Kimi Antonelli is set to be announced as a 2025 Mercedes driver in the very near future. All competition for the seat has now been removed.

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz was perhaps the biggest name on the market this year, but he committed to Williams at the start of the summer break. Mercedes only offered Sainz one year because they didn’t want to stand in Antonelli’s way long-term.

Toto Wolff’s priority target to replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton was reigning world champion Max Verstappen. Wolff confirmed talks with Verstappen had taken place, but he now accepts that the Dutchman will stay put for 2025.

That move could well be revisited further down the line. But next year, Antonelli will partner George Russell for the Silver Arrows.

In fact, a report in Italy claims Antonelli has already signed his Mercedes contract. Logically, next weekend’s race in Monza could be the ideal time to make things official, particularly with the 17-year-old due to run in FP1.

Wolff is taking a gamble on one of the youngest drivers in the sport’s history. Antonelli only stepped up to Formula 2 this year and sits seventh in the championship with two race wins under his belt.

Martin Brundle predicts that Kimi Antonelli will be ‘special’ at Mercedes

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 ahead of qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix, Martin Brundle offered his reaction to Mercedes’ imminent move for Antonelli. He expects the academy starlet to have a ‘very special’ career.

There will inevitably be difficult moments in his first couple of years. Antonelli will have to cope with the pressure of driving for a team that could be in championship contention in his rookie season.

Brundle, however, likened him to Hamilton, the man he’s succeeding. He jumped straight into a frontrunning McLaren team in 2007, fresh from winning the GP2 title.

Hamilton finished just a point shy of winning the title that year, with a mistake at the Chinese Grand Prix costing him. He would make amends in 2008 though, becoming the sport’s youngest-ever champion at that time.

“My gut feeling is that he’s going to be very special,” Brundle said of Antonelli. “We’re going to hear a lot of him over the next few years.

“He’ll make mistakes of course as a youngster being put straight into a Grand Prix-winning team, maybe even a championship team. But that’s exactly what happened to Lewis Hamilton back in 2007.”

George Russell snubs Kimi Antonelli as he names ‘number one’ pick for Mercedes seat

While his F2 results may not be particularly eye-catching, Antonelli has also been testing old Mercedes cars behind the scenes. Under the regulations, teams are allowed to carry out such runs as long as the machinery is two or more years old.

Russell says Antonelli was ‘exceptionally fast’ at Silverstone, when both drivers took to the track. There were even rumours that the youngster had the edge on high fuel.

The 26-year-old will be expected to lead Mercedes from Australia onwards following Hamilton’s exit. He should have a couple of tenths in hand for the first year or so, even if Antonelli will also be expected to claim some headline results.

Russell wanted to partner Verstappen because he would have had another chance to prove himself against the best. Instead, he faces a fight for his seat ahead of the expiry of his deal.