Andrea Kimi Antonelli could make his Formula One debut before the season ends, according to some rumors early this year.
Even if he needs to wait longer, it appears that the Mercedes junior driver will eventually make it to the F1 grid.
George Russell, who is presently without a Mercedes teammate for the upcoming season, says Antonelli is “no doubt going to be a Formula 1 driver in the future”.
Although he is not yet legally old enough to race in Formula One, the 17-year-old has received more attention than another teenager, Max Verstappen, did when he made his record-breaking debut in 2015. The FIA rules imposed following Verstappen’s debut, such as the 18-year age limit, may have been the only thing preventing Antonelli from arriving sooner.
After passing up the opportunity to have Verstappen in their stable all those years ago, Mercedes is eager to harness one of the most outstanding young talents of his generation, especially since Lewis Hamilton will leave the team at the end of the season, leaving them with a seat to fill.
Antonelli’s performances in this year’s F2 championship appear to provide few hints as to why he is being lauded as ‘the next big thing’. After ten races, Antonelli is sixth in the championship, with three fourth-place finishes and no wins or podiums to his record.
So, what is it about Antonelli that has prompted Mercedes to consider him as a suitable replacement for the most successful F1 driver in history?
Kimi, as he likes to be called, first caught Mercedes’ attention before their most recent addition, George Russell, made his grand prix debut. Marco Antonelli is the son of touring car and GT driver Marco Antonelli, who founded the Antonelli Motorsport company.
Even though he hadn’t even reached OK juvenile level, Antonelli, a serial champion in several juvenile Italian karting championships, started a partnership with Mercedes in 2018. Before moving up to the CIK-FIA level in 2019 and obtaining a formal Mercedes junior contract in April of the same year that Russell became an F1 driver, he excelled in small karts in 2018.
After finishing behind Marcus Amand in the OK European championship but ahead of Tuukka Taponen, a junior driver for Ferrari, Antonelli achieved fifth place in the global championships held in Finland, trailing only Pepe Marti, the current F2 opponent. The next season, in 2020, Antonelli shown growth by winning the CIK European championship. Unfortunately, Antonelli was unable to compete for the world title due to a collision with Maya Weug during the wild opening lap of the world championship race at the Algarve track, which left him with a broken leg.
The subsequent season in 2021 proved to be equally prosperous. In the OK class, he successfully retained his European title. However, after qualifying fourth for the world championship race in Sweden, a subpar start eliminated him from the race and he placed outside the top 10.
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