Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be the official Mercedes driver for the 2025 F1 season. One of the most promising young talents in the world of motor sports has signed a contract with a German company. If confirmed, he will be Lewis Hamilton’s successor and George Russell’s new teammate. An official announcement should be shared by the German company during the next Italian GP.
The contract was signed
Mercedes has reportedly chosen its second driver for the next F1 season. Interested parties would sign a deal that would allow the young driver from Bologna to occupy the single seat left vacant by Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari. Born in 2006, Antonelli needs no introduction, he has already caused a sensation in the youth category, and his recent success in F2 at Silverstone in the Sprint race, winning by almost 10 seconds in a second, would have convinced him to reassert himself in Budapest. To close the little gem Toto Wolff and give him a chance for next season.
The news has created quite a buzz and online rumors suggest that an official announcement should be forthcoming Thursday of the Italian GP at Monza. It will be a big party for him too, as it will be a few days after his 18th birthday, which he will celebrate on August 25. The choice is a natural evolution and a celebration of the Italian passion for engines that goes beyond Ferrari. Now the last days on the track for Kimi, even if he is currently on summer vacation, then everything is ready for a vacation with friends in the USA and a contract in the backpack.
Route
Kimi Antonelli started making headlines from a young age, achieving significant success in karting, where he won world and continental titles. His skill and determination quickly brought him under the wing of Mercedes, with a program that produced several talents competing in Formula 1, including George Russell. In 2022, Antonelli dominated the Italian F4 championship to take the title, cementing his reputation as one of the best young and promising drivers in the world.
He subsequently went on to impress in Formula Regional where, despite his age, he showed not only raw speed but also tactical maturity. At the beginning of the year he switched to F2 with Prema and a few weeks ago he took his first win with particular gusto at Silverstone and confirmed it again a few days later at the Hungarian GP.
Debut and first reviews
Year April 16, 2024 It was a day Antonelli would not easily forget. He made his F1 debut in Mercedes AMG. In fact, the first of a series of tests is already planned to prepare him as well as possible. A great two-day sensation behind the wheel of a used Mercedes W12 single-seater in the 2021 season.
The news that the German team chose the Italian teenager did not escape criticism from other experts in the sector. Among all these Jacques Villeneuve One who openly shares doubts about the Italian’s lack of concrete results and lack of a queue of other teams willing to give him an official one-man seat.
Hamilton’s legacy
Kimi is a great choice at Brackley and the idea of ​​inheriting Hamilton’s place is not just a matter of on-track talent. He will also need to show he has the maturity, personality and ability to handle the pressure of racing in place of one of Formula 1’s most successful drivers. Lewis Hamilton has set a new standard for what it means to be a champion, both on and off the track, and anyone who follows him will inevitably face comparisons. In addition to the technical challenges, he will have to manage the pressure of expectations not only from Mercedes, but also from the media and fans who see him as the new champion.
Like Hamilton, he has the potential to become one of F1’s best drivers. However, the road is long and full of challenges. If he can maintain his development trajectory and prove his worth, he could write a new chapter in motorsport history, continuing the Briton’s legacy as he builds his own sport. The next generation of Italian F1 drivers can therefore have in Antonelli a leading representative capable of returning the Italian flag to the pinnacle of world motorsport.
Italians in F1
In 2025, the participation of the Italian driver in the main motorsport competition returns with Antonelli in F1. An absence that continues until Antonio Giovinazzi’s final involvement with Alfa Romeo in the 2021 season. Before him Jarno Trulli, Giancarlo Fisichella and later Elio de Angelis, Michele Alboreto, Riccardo Patrese, Nino Farina and the most famous Alberto Ascari.
Only one Italian driver enjoyed racing for Mercedes, it was 1955 and it was 48-year-old Roman Piero Taruffi behind the wheel of the German company. At that time, he came to the German company with a wealth of experience gained at Alfa Romeo and Ferrari.