Mercedes have confirmed Italian teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli will replace Lewis Hamilton from the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Hamilton announced in February that he will join Ferrari next year and Mercedes have chosen rising star Antonelli, who turned 18 last Sunday, to be George Russell’s team-mate.
Antonelli made his Mercedes debut in practice at the Italian Grand Prix on Friday but crashed in the early stages of the session, taking some of the gloss off of what was meant to be a celebratory weekend for driver and team.
He will become the third youngest F1 driver of all-time when he makes his competitive debut at the season-opener in Australia next March at 18 years and 203 days old – only Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll were younger when they made their debuts.
Antonelli’s appearance at Monza was part of the programme the team have designed to fast-track him to the top of the sport, with testing of old Mercedes cars and further F1 practice sessions to come before the end of the season.
Antonelli was linked with a possible switch to Williams to replace Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the 2024 season, but Wolff decided the young star would be better served completing his Formula 2 campaign with Prema Racing and testing programme with Mercedes.
More to follow…
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