Cockpit for Antonelli?

Toto Wolff: “I’m really proud of that”

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

"I have a picture of him standing next to me in a go-kart as a little boy, and now to see him develop into a Formula 1 driver is something I'm really proud of." Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff thinks highly of super talent Kimi Antonelli. Will the 17-year-old get a cockpit soon?

Andrea Kimi Antonelli makes the hearts of Italian Formula 1 fans beat faster. The teenager is regarded as one of the greatest promises in the premier class of motorsport since Max Verstappen and is even being touted as Lewis Hamilton's successor at Mercedes. Antonelli has a home race this weekend in Imola. The 17-year-old comes from the municipality of Casalecchio di Reno just outside Bologna, around 45 minutes' drive from the race track.

I'm very excited and happy to see him in a Formula 1 car, he's been with us since he was eleven years old.

Toto Wolff

Antonelli will not be driving a Formula 1 car in front of his home fans, he will only be competing in Formula 2 as part of the supporting program. But it's not just the tifosi who want him to be the first Italian Grand Prix winner since Giancarlo Fisichella in Malaysia in 2006 - if and when that might be. In any case, the expectations of Antonelli are huge. "He really is a huge talent, an exceptional talent," said former world champion Nico Rosberg. For the German, Antonelli is even "one of the best we have ever seen in a go-kart".

Drivers mature in go-karts. Few make it to the very top, most of them never reach the top. Antonelli, whose father Marco owns his own team, has virtually raced through the ranks, skipping classes along the way. In 2022, he won the German and Italian Formula 4 championships, and last year he secured the title in two Formula Regional Championships.

This season, Antonelli is competing in Formula 2 for Prema, where Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Mick Schumacher have also proven their talent. "It's a big and difficult step. But I know I can do it well," he once told the "Gazzetta dello Sport". "I will try to do what I have always done: work hard and learn." At the race in Melbourne at the end of March, Antonelli narrowly missed out on the podium in fourth place, his best result to date in the top junior class.

The talent sponsored by Dino Chiesa, the Italian karting great, and Giancarlo Minardi, founder of the Formula 1 team of the same name, has been part of the Mercedes squad since 2019. And when the sensational switch from Hamilton to Ferrari in 2025 was announced at the beginning of the year, Antonelli's name was quickly mentioned as a possible successor.

"I'm very excited and happy to see him in a Formula 1 car, he's been with us since he was eleven years old," said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. "I have a picture of him standing next to me in a go-kart as a little boy, and now to see him develop into a Formula 1 driver is something I'm really proud of."

Test for Mercedes
Antonelli has already tested a 2021 Mercedes and most recently a 2022 Mercedes alongside Mick Schumacher, but Wolff does not want to "burn out" the super talent, as he himself admitted. "I've already talked too much about Kimi because he's only 17 and skipped Formula 3," said the Viennese driver. "He still has to learn and develop away from the spotlights."

Williams submits special application for super license for Antonelli
Antonelli has intelligence at the wheel and speed. There has already been speculation that he could replace Logan Sargeant at Williams in Imola, who is about to be sacked. He would have the necessary points for the so-called super license, the Formula 1 driving license. However, Antonelli will not turn 18 until August 25, and after Verstappen's rocket start at just 17 years and 166 days in the premier class, the International Automobile Federation has raised the minimum age for drivers to 18. However, a special application for Antonelli's super license has already been submitted - reportedly by Williams.

Williams team boss James Vowles

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

"When you see a young driver, you have no idea whether he's going to be incredible, great, good or maybe just mediocre. But you could see from his early Formula 4 days that he was developing incredibly well," explained Williams Team Principal James Vowles, himself a former Mercedes driver for many years.

"The poor guy already has so much pressure"
Antonelli as Hamilton's successor at Mercedes? Possible. However, the Williams option, which is also a Mercedes engine customer, would be much more likely, where he could be built up. For Rosberg, this would "make the most sense", even if he would first have to prove himself in Formula 2. "You have to take it slowly with Kimi Antonelli. The poor guy already has so much pressure," said Rosberg.