2024-08-31 15:41:50
Italian prodigy Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who just celebrated his 18th birthday, will replace Lewis Hamilton at the Mercedes Formula One team in the 2025 season, the German team announced on the sidelines of the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday. .
The trans-Alpine driver, considered the best driver of his generation, will team up with Briton George Russell, while the seven-time world champion will join Ferrari.
“Our driver combination for 2025 will combine experience, talent, youth and speed. We look forward to seeing what George and Kimi can bring to the team individually and collectively. This pairing perfectly kicks off the history of the Mercedes team. A new chapter,” iconic team owner Toto Wolff said in a press release.
Antonelli has proven irresistible in previous seasons in games reserved for youngsters. In 2022, he won the Italian and German Formula 4 Championships, and then in 2023, he won the Middle East and European Regional Formula Championships.
In 2024, he skipped Formula 3 and directly entered the Formula 2 championship, which is extremely rare.
After a complicated start to the year, the Italian took his first sprint victory at Silverstone at the beginning of July and then won the race in Budapest two weeks later. The Bologna native is currently seventh in the standings with four rounds of the season remaining.
“Being announced as the Mercedes driver for 2025 is an incredible feeling. Getting into F1 is a dream that has been driving me since I was a kid. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m ready to take this opportunity, ” said Antonelli, who joined Mercedes’ young driver program in 2019 at the age of 12.
The Italian, voiced by Lewis Hamilton, surprised everyone in February when he announced his departure from Ferrari before the season even started.
“I said it a long time ago that I think he’s a guy that the team should choose moving forward. I think he has a bright future. I can’t wait to see and watch his progress (…) We shouldn’t be recruiting A driver with many years of experience, but young people have to be given opportunities… that’s what McLaren did for me and it worked very well,” the Briton told a press conference in Monza.
The news comes a day after Antonelli failed to make his F1 debut. On Friday, the trans-Alpine driver suffered a major accident during the first free practice session of the Italian Grand Prix: after less than ten minutes of driving, he lost control of George Russell at high speed The car lost control and hit the tire wall. However, he was not injured and was able to escape from the vehicle alone.
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