Mercedes is still waiting to see if it can somehow convince Max Verstappen to join the team as Red Bull’s power plays drag on, but as time goes on it has become clear that Antonelli might well be its man for the future.
On Thursday at Imola, Hamilton said he would put the Italian youngster in the car if it had been his call.
“Honestly, I have no idea what Toto [Wolff]’s plans are but I think for me taking on a youngster would be [the way to go]. If it was my job, I would probably take on Kimi,” the seven-time world champion said.
But as much as taking on a rookie has not been Mercedes’ modus operandi, perhaps the stars have never aligned so well to put its faith into one this time.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
The faith is there
Mercedes’ recent actions are suggesting Hamilton’s thinking isn’t far off that of his employer. Ever since his bombshell move to Ferrari for 2025 was announced, Mercedes has been accelerating its development path for its 17-year-old protege.
That included private tests with its 2021 and 2022 machinery during the large gap between the F2 rounds in Melbourne and Imola, with further testing planned.
There was even a dispensation request to grant the Italian an FIA superlicence before his minimum age of 18, but team principal Toto Wolff quickly shut down any rumours that Mercedes was behind it or that he would even be willing to throw Antonelli in an F1 seat in the short term.
Having skipped F3 to jump straight into F2 with Prema from FRECA, Antonelli is facing a steep learning curve but has done well so far against his more experienced team-mate Oliver Bearman, the 19-year-old who impressed the world with his outstanding Ferrari cameo in Jeddah.
Antonelli is ninth after three weekends, with Prema having struggled to repeat its usual dominance so far, but a fourth place in Australia’s sprint shows both he and the Italian powerhouse are starting to get there.
“It’s completely on the trajectory that we expected,” Wolff told Autosport in Miami about his protege’s progress.
“There are easier days, there are harder days. I think between the two drivers and the team, they need to sort out a few issues, but it’s not unexpected. And the testing goes very well and we are just approaching it calm and collected.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes testing at Imola
Photo by: Davide Cavazza
Stability is key
As evidenced by the latest flurry of driver deals in…
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