Kimi Antonelli is poised to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes F1 in 2025. His impressive performance during a private test at Silverstone has solidified his position as the frontrunner.
Antonelli is definitely in the running to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes F1 from next year… and he is even the favourite now if Max Verstappen chooses to stay with Red Bull Racing.
During the Monaco GP weekend, Carlos Sainz was officially informed by Toto Wolff that he would not be George Russell’s teammate next year.
Earlier in May, Mercedes organised a private test at Silverstone where 17-year-old Antonelli faced Mick Schumacher. However, it was later revealed that George Russell was also present to set benchmarks.
The three drivers used a 2022 Mercedes and took turns according to an identical programme. Antonelli was as fast as Russell in qualifying configuration, and slightly better than him in race pace. This explains James Allison’s enthusiastic comments about the young Italian at Imola.
Based on these results, the 15 members of the Mercedes board of directors voted “yes” for Antonelli to make his F1 debut with the Brackley-based team next year, should the seat ultimately be assigned to him by Toto Wolff.
Before this face-to-face test, only three board members had approved the proposal.
Russell said he would be happy to be partnered with Antonelli in 2025 – or with any other driver.
“I think Kimi is a fantastic driver. He will undoubtedly be a Formula 1 driver in the future and he is another junior driver (from Mercedes) climbing the ranks, just like me.”
“So, I think this is a great opportunity for Mercedes to build the future. But I would accept anyone as a teammate.”
Inside Antonelli’s Impressive Silverstone Test. Inside Antonelli’s Impressive Silverstone Test
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