Why Andrea Kimi Antonelli would’ve been open to not driving for Mercedes in 2025

Follow us on Google Discover

Andrea Kimi Antonelli will partner George Russell at Mercedes next season as he replaces seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

The Italian driver was fast-tracked up the junior categories, winning titles in Italian F4 and FRECA before a mixed season in Formula 2 this year.

Antonelli has been highly rated since he stepped into single-seaters, immediately being on the pace at the front of the field.

He made his long-awaited debut on an F1 race weekend in FP1 ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. The Mercedes academy driver was chaotic behind the wheel and crashed at Curva Alboreto just 10 minutes into the session.

Antonelli will be under pressure to deliver straightaway next season and challenge for podiums, while matching Russell’s lap times.

The Race reports that was one reason why the 18-year-old was open to not replacing Hamilton and continuing his junior career in 2025, before Antonelli ultimately signed for Mercedes.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was open to a less abrupt graduation into Formula 1 at Mercedes

Antonelli will become the youngest driver on the Formula 1 grid as Mercedes are fielding a line-up made up of their junior drivers.

The Italian driver has completed extensive testing in slightly older ground-effect Formula 1 cars at tracks such as the Red Bull Ring and Imola.

This track time should allow Antonelli to adjust to consistently racing in Formula 1 but there is much less pressure in a private test.

READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli shares what Mercedes ‘taught him’ about F1 after Monza FP1 crash

The added media attention of a Grand Prix weekend will be new to Antonelli, as well as keeping up the pace over a race distance.

Antonelli would have been open to a more gradual graduation into Formula 1 at the Mercedes team, where he will be under immediate pressure to deliver.

But if the Mercedes academy driver were to have not moved up to F1 in 2025 to replace Hamilton, it may have closed a pathway for Antonelli over the coming years.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli may need to adjust his racecraft next year

Antonelli has dominated much of his junior career while racing in a front-running team towards the front of the grid.

He has proven the teenager can overtake and race wheel-to-wheel, with Antonelli passing Franco Colapinto at Eau Rouge in the rain during Formula 2’s visit to Belgium this season.

Antonelli has also battled his PREMA teammate Oliver Bearman multiple times in Formula 2 as the pair prepare to step up to F1, with the Ferrari-backed Briton joining Haas.

But despite being very quick, Juan Pablo Montoya has concerns about Antonelli. Formula 1 racing is much more measured than F2, with longer races and fragile Pirelli tyres that can be easily overheated.

This may cause Antonelli to adjust his approach as the margins are so fine at the front.