When Lewis Hamilton acknowledged his move to Ferrari, the entire motorsport community was anticipating another experienced driver to replace the seven-time world champion at Mercedes. According to pundits, only three drivers were leading the race for the seat alongside George Russell, with the obvious Max Verstappen being heavily prioritized over the likes of Carlos Sainz and retired Sebastian Vettel. However, Toto Wolff’s eventual statement threw all the predictions out of sorts.
The Austrian revealed that Mercedes is busy choosing between youth and experience, and this let another driver onto the team’s radar – Kimi Antonelli. The robust 17-year-old driver recently made a rapid jump to Formula 2 and has a rather impressive track record. Hence, there is no denying that Mercedes will be keeping a close watch on Antonelli’s development in F2 and evaluating his performances to the finest margin.
Now, the question is, is Antonelli only being considered for Mercedes? No! Signing Antonelli as a replacement for Hamilton would be the biggest gamble of Mercedes‘ motorsport career. And by the looks of it, neither Wolff nor the other stakeholders are prepared to pursue the option and have shifted their focus to Verstappen.
Meanwhile, Logan Sargeant has inadvertently paved a counter path for Antonelli, thanks to the American’s underwhelming performance this year.
Where will Kimi Antonelli end up in 2025?
As of the present scenario, Antonelli is poised to make his Formula 1 debut with Williams as early as next season. Sargeant has been nowhere near Williams’ desired target. Furthermore, the team’s antics at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix have only solidified Sargeant’s fate in Formula 1. Hence, Williams has become a more than realistic option for Antonelli despite James Vowles downplaying this prediction in a recent interview.
🚨BIG NEWS🚨
According to Joe Saward (FIA Accredited journalist for 35+ years) Kimi Antonelli could replace Logan Sargeant from Imola 🤯
Because he’s under 18, the FIA should authorize it. pic.twitter.com/qKeUdij60E
— Formula God (@formula1god) April 23, 2024
Vowles revealed that Williams is in the midst of building its own development program and would only consider promoting one of its juniors to Formula 1 rather than recruiting one of Mercedes’.
In the meantime, Mercedes is clearly working towards signing Verstappen. Talks are set to take place between the two parties during the Miami Grand Prix weekend. But, if things go sideways, there is no denying that Wolff and Co. will shift their focus back to Antonelli. Therefore, what does the future hold for the young Italian sensation?
Sara Chavan