Andrea Kimi Antonelli is a name every formula 1 fan is probably familiar with by now. After his peculiar outing in FP1 during the Monza grand prix weekend and his subsequent signing with Mercedes for 2025, this of course isn’t odd. However the opinions about Antonelli are quite divided. With some saying he’ll be the next big thing in formula 1. While others look at his Formula 2 results and claim that he isn’t ready or even that his talents are exaggerated. Yet Mercedes, and in particular Toto Wolff, is confident he’ll show his worth for Mercedes. In this article I’ll talk about why I think signing Antonelli is the best statement the Brackley based squad can make after losing Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari.
Kimi’s exceptional talent.
Kimi is presented by Mercedes as the next big thing to enter Formula 1. He achieved this status by showing some extraordinary things during his short but successful racing career. In karting he was winning most of the things he participated in, before going on to do the same thing in lower formulae of single-seaters. He was then rushed into FIA Formula 2 as a 17 year old boy, skipping the logical step of first competing in the FIA formula 3 championship. Arguably this was already with the thought in mind to get him ready for Formula 1 as soon as possible. However his record is not the only thing showing his talents. During the sprint race of this year’s Formula 2 British grand-prix weekend, he showcased just how good he is. With Prema having a hard time getting to grips with the new Formula 2 car, it’s hard for Kimi and his Prema teammate Ollie Bearman to showcase their actual talent. During the race weekend at Silverstone, the sprint race on Saturday was soaking wet. Kimi started from pole and dominated the race. Pulling a gap right away and doing it again after a safety-car period. He eventually won the race by over 8 seconds. Showcasing that in conditions where the driver matters more than the car, he is right there at the absolute front. He almost went on to do the same during the sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps. making some daring moves in the wet, most notably his move around the outside of Eau-Rouge. But, unfortunately the race got red flagged after a couple of laps and never resumed. The final push for Mercedes came at the Italian Grand Prix where he drove free-practice 1 for the team. Now I hear you thinking, didn’t he crash after not even finishing his second lap? He did. However, during those laps the telemetry showed just how fast he was in his first ever outing in an F1 car. with his second lap shaping up like he’d been driving an F1 car for years. Unfortunately he overheated his front tires meaning he had no grip in the final corner. He placed his Mercedes in the barriers with a hard impact. Unfortunately we never actually got to see the lap he did. But it was enough to confirm his exceptional talent.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli joins Mercedes for the 2025 F1 season
Earlier this year Lewis Hamilton, to the shock of everyone, announced he would be leaving Mercedes. Lewis decided that now is the best time to realize his dream of racing for the legendary prancing horse, replacing Carlos Sainz jr and joining Charles Leclerc who’ll stay at the team for a while to come. For Mercedes this was a hard hit to take. in the past years Lewis Hamilton became the identity of the team. Together they achieved extraordinary success. with Lewis winning 6 drivers titles and achieving 83 victory’s driving for the silver arrows. Now that he’s heading for the door, Mercedes needs to reinvent themselves, create their own identity.
What better way to create your own identity than having 2 talented drivers from your own academy form your line-up. With driver academy programs being under fire as of recent, it’s a powerful statement to make towards your competitors. Not to mention the talent they scouted will form one of the most anticipated driver line-ups for next year. George Russell, a proven race winner that now has to step up to be the lead driver. Together with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a young aspiring rookie making the step up to a (potentially) race winning formula 1 team at the age of just 18 years old. Sounds familiar? That’s because it is! It’s already 8 years ago a young Max Verstappen joined proven race winner Daniel Ricciardo for a seat at the race winning team Red Bull Racing. We all know how that turned out, don’t we? Ofcourse, every person and every story is different. And it’s not a given thing Antonelli’s fairytale Mercedes story will turn out to be as successful as Max and Red Bull’s story. But there is a big chance it will. Having a young, fresh and super motivated face in the garage will lift up the spirits of the whole team. Of Course he’ll make mistakes and cause some damage in his first year(s). However this is something the team probably already has taken into consideration.
All in all, signing Antonelli was probably the only logical thing to do for Mercedes.It makes a statement. They won’t dwell on the past and Lewis leaving. They’re basically saying: I’m sorry Lewis but we’re already over you! showing the team is strong and motivated to get back to the absolute top in the future. And I’m sure they will sooner or later.
Let me know if you agree or disagree with my thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment or sending me a message! Greetings, Jesse!