Kimi Antonelli, Ferrari-Hamilton: Mercedes focuses on the Sinner of Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, Mercedes: who will join George Russel?

The world of Formula 1 is turned upside down after the sensational announcement of Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari in 2025 where he will form a super couple with Charles Leclerc. The 7-time world champion will land in Maranello at the age of 40 in an attempt to accomplish the feat that would place him even more in the legend: winning his 8th world title, overtaking the great Michael Schumacher. It goes without saying that, beyond the results on the track, his partnership with the Cavallino at a media and marketing level is an extraordinary achievement.

The other side of the coin in the Lewis Hamilton-Ferrari deal is linked to Mercedes' strategies. And here it is clear that the German team will continue to focus on the 25-year-old English driver George Russel in the coming years. After an excellent 2022 with fourth place in the drivers' standings (at 275 points and +35 on Hamilton) and victory in the Brazilian GP (as well as in the Sprint Race), 2023 had lights and shadows for him (eighth place with 175 points and 59 from Lewis), but no one doubts his value and in this new season, his last alongside Hamilton, he will have to give important signals.

Lewis Hamilton-Ferrari, Mercedes looks to the future with Andrea Kimi Antonelli

In the meantime, however, in the medium-long term, Mercedes is developing an Italian talent: Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a very young Bolognese born in 2006. Many hopes of the Italian fans are pinned on him to see a champion from our country protagonist in Formula 1. There are no doubts about the boy's skills. After being twice European Kart champion in the OK category (2020, 2021), has forged ahead in the last two seasons, obtaining sensational results: between 2022 and 2023, Kimi Antonelli won four championships, imposing itself in Italian F4, German F4, European Formula Regional and Middle East Formula. And in 2024 he will make a double leap: no Formula 3, he will already be racing in F2 at the age of 18 (he will do so on August 25th). A single-seater is ready for him in the Prema team category championship alongside the Englishman Oliver Bearman, one year older and a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy.

Lewis Hamilton-Ferrari, Mercedes on Fernando Alonso?

Andrea Kimi Antonelli – son of art, his father Marco was a racing driver and is the owner of the AKM Motorsport team – is a jewel that Mercedes has been cultivating for some time, since 2012 to be exact. In 2019 he joined the Junior Team of the German manufacturer and in 2022 he was present at the presentation of the W13 (with the other members of the junior program) together with the official drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Dreaming of becoming an official F1 driver one day. And there are those who hypothesize in these hours that the departure of the English champion to Ferrari could lead Toto Wolff to anticipate Toto Wolff's plans, bringing Antonelli to the Circus as early as 2025. In the meantime, some rumors lead to Fernando Alonso joining Mercedes. And perhaps Antonelli could gain experience at Williams, a bit like what happened with George Russell. Let's not forget that 2025 can generally be seen as a “transition” year in view of the 2026 regulation change.

We will see. We are at the scenarios. There is certainly a season in Formula 2 to face first, growing calmly and without pressure. “Bringing Kimi Antonelli directly into Formula 2 is a big step because those cars are heavier and much more powerful. If we give him the time he does, and we don't expect him to make a splash in his first season, I think he can be really great in this sport. He is only seventeen, he is so young,” Toto Wolf said a few days ago on the official Formula 1 web page. “We took Kimi under our wings in 2012 and he was a fantastic guy even then. You could see the character and he was strong. We had him in the garage and there was a lot of confidence. In go-karting his CV was immense and then you put him in the junior formulas and he wins every single season in his rookie year. But we have to be careful because there is a lot of hype around him.”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Jannik Sinner of Formula 1?

Will Andrea Kimi Antonelli be the Sinner of the Circus? Time will tell. Jannik is certainly proving that nothing is impossible: the 22-year-old from South Tyrol led the Italian national team to win the Davis Cup and brought home a Slam, competitions that seemed taboo for our country and had been missing for more than 45 years. And Italy, which has a red heart full of love for the Ferrari team, however, has not had one of our representatives in the Circus since the end of 2021 (Antonio Giovinazzi) and has not won a Drivers' World Championship since the dawn of time (Alberto Ascari , it was the year 1953). But it's right to go step by step. In the meantime, we dream of seeing one on the track again. Then the future will tell. Letting Andrea Kimi Antonelli grow calmly.