Kimi Antonelli: Who is Mercedes teen tipped to replace Lewis Hamilton on F1 grid in 2025?

Kimi Antonelli – the teenager tipped as a potential replacement for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next year – is one of the highest-rated prospects in motorsport right now.

The Italian driver is racing in Formula 2 in 2024, having skipped F3, for Prema Racing alongside British teen and Ferrari reserve Ollie Bearman.

Antonelli, 17, is on Mercedes’ books and was signed on to their junior programme at 11 years of age. In the years since, he has won numerous karting and single-seater competitions, which has thrust him into the spotlight at such a young age.

So much so that Williams have applied to the FIA for special dispensation for Antonelli to race in F1 before his 18^th birthday in August, potentially replacing Logan Sargeant. However, the chances of the governing body approving the request is thought to be unlikely.

But what is Antonelli’s background – and could he really step up to F1 at such a young age?

Who is Kimi Antonelli?

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who usually simply goes by Kimi Antonelli, was born in Bologna in 2006. His father, Marco, is a former racing driver and, in case you were wondering, indeed gave his son the middle name of ‘Kimi’ after 2007 Ferrari world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Antonelli rose up the ranks quickly, winning the European Karting Championship in both 2020 and 2021, and making his debut in the Italian F4 championship at the age of 15 in 2021.

A year later, he was victorious in the Italian F4 championship, securing 13 wins from 20 races, and in the same year won the ADAC Formula 4 title.

His stock was rising and, when in 2023 he won both the Formula Regional Championships in Europe and the Middle East, Mercedes in partnership with Prema decided that the highly-rated youngster should skip F3 in 2024.

So this is where we land now. It’s been a modest first three rounds of the 2024 season for Antonelli but, despite his inexperience compared to his rivals, he is still a respectable ninth heading into a track he knows well – Imola – this weekend.

What has Toto Wolff said about Antonelli?

It is known that the Mercedes boss rates Antonelli extremely highly.

When Lewis Hamilton shocked the paddock by announcing his 2025 move to Ferrari in February, Wolff was asked about the prospect of a rapid ascension for Antonelli next year in F1.

"It’s clear Kimi has been in our junior academy since he was 11 and we have great pleasure in watching him grow as a young man and growing through the ranks, but I also want to take a little bit of pressure off him,” Wolff said.

"He’s just 17, he’s won everything he needed to win in his rookie seasons and I think he’s going to be in Formula One.

“He’s going to be a very, very successful driver in Formula One. But he hasn’t started his Formula Two campaign yet."

While Wolff is keen to keep the limelight off Antonelli as he targets some strong races in his rookie F2 campaign, the team principal is keen to avoid a repeat of the situation with Max Verstappen 10 years ago.

Verstappen had a choice between Mercedes and Red Bull but with the latter able to commit the Dutchman to an early progression to F1 as a 17-year-old in 2015 with Toro Rosso, Max and his father Jos opted for Christian Horner’s team. The rest is history.

Avoiding a similar scenario this time round is why nobody is ruling out yet the possibility of a shock promotion for Antonelli to Mercedes next year as George Russell’s team-mate.

What is the latest on a potential F1 seat?

It emerged over the Miami Grand Prix weekend that has a request has been sent to the FIA for Antonelli to be granted an F1 superlicence ahead of his 18^th birthday on 25 August. It is thought the request has come from Williams.

Antonelli has the required number of points but is unable to, by the letter of the rulebook, race in F1 until he turns 18. This would come after the Dutch Grand Prix, following the F1 summer break.

Logan Sargeant’s seat at Williams is definitely under threat, with team boss James Vowles (and Wolff’s former No 2 at Mercedes) admitting that he is looking at a number of options for the second seat alongside Alex Albon next year.

Could Antonelli replace Sargeant mid-season? Possibly so.

The 17-year-old has in the last month undergone his first set of tests in an F1 car with Mercedes, first driving the 2021 car at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. He has also tested the 2022 W13 car at Imola and Silverstone in the last few weeks.

His times, especially compared to Mercedes reserve Mick Schumacher, will be a key barometer to see if Antonelli is ready to make the step up.

What has Antonelli himself said?

The Italian, who speaks fluent English, spoke with excitement following his first F1 test in Austria.

“It’s been an incredible experience; I loved every second of it,” he said, in a video on Mercedes’ social media channels.

“The first day didn’t go as planned, we got some snow unfortunately, so we couldn’t really drive. But the second day was dry, we got quite a lot of laps, and it was really good fun.”

“I want to thank all the team for all the hard work and [I’m] excited for what’s coming.”

The key to Antonelli’s next step will be two-fold: first his performances in F2, to measure his consistency and adaptability in what already represents a two-step jump from Formula Regional competitions.

The second will be these F1 tests – has he got the natural pace to match the likes of Schumacher and Russell? Watch this space.