Will be Andrea Kimi Antonelli to make his Formula 1 debut in the Mercedes team and who will replace Lewis Hamilton in 2025. He is the son of Mark Antonelliformer pilot and owner of the AKM teama team that competes in several GT championships, in the International GT Open and the GT World Challenge Europe, and also participates in the Italian Formula 4.
New Mercedes driver to replace Hamilton, Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Andrea Kimi Antonelli will race with Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 Team in 2025, replacing Lewis Hamilton, who will move to Ferrari. Antonelli, at 18 years old, becomes the third youngest driver to debut in F1 after Verstappen and Stroll, and the first Italian in F1 since 2021. He fulfilled his dream of driving a F1 in free practice at his home race in Monza.
Who is Antonelli, the new Mercedes driver
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, born in Bologna on 25 August 2006, is an Italian racing driver who currently races in Formula 2 with the Prema Racing team. Initially known for his successes in karting, Antonelli won the European Karting Championship in the OK category in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, he won important single-seater titles, including the Formula 4 ADACthe Italian Formula 4 and the FIA Motorsport Games.
In 2023, he continued to shine in the Formula Regional Middle East and in the European Regional Formulawinning both championships. In addition to his single-seater career, Antonelli founded AKM Motorsport together with his father Mark Antonellia team dedicated to launching young talents into karting, and has played coaching and chassis development roles.
Antonelli’s single-seater debut took place in 2021 with the Prema team in the Italian Formula 4where he immediately demonstrated his talent. In 2022, he won numerous races and established himself as one of the most successful drivers in Formula 4. The 2023 season saw Antonelli triumph in Regional Middle East and European Formulaobtaining his fourth title in as many categories contested.
In addition to his single-seater career, Antonelli has participated in the Italian Gran Turismo Championship with the family team, achieving excellent results, including pole positions and victories.
Antonelli F1 debut
In 2024, Antonelli was confirmed as a Formula 2 driver with Prema, where he achieved significant victories, demonstrating his speed and adaptability. In February 2024, with the announcement of Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari, Antonelli was mentioned as a possible replacement.
After a series of test with Mercedesin Monza it was officially confirmed that he will debut in Formula 1 in 2025 with the Mercedes-AMG F1 team, alongside George Russell and replacing Hamilton.
His debut at Monza was unfortunate Italian Grand Prix 2024 Formula 1 where in the free practice session, the new eighteen year old from Bologna ended up against the barriers at the entrance to the “parabolica” after having lost control of Mercedes W15 by George Russell. Antonelli, visibly emotional about his debut, admitted that he had pushed too hard and apologized to the team.
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