By Jennifer Amarachi
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, an Italian youngster, will replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, once the seven-time world champion leaves for Ferrari at the conclusion of the season.
Antonelli, who turned 18 last weekend, will pair up with George Russell, another graduate of the organization’s juvenile programme.
“Reaching F1 is a dream I’ve had since I was a small boy; I want to thank the team for the support they’ve given me in my career so far and the faith they’ve shown in me.
“I’m still learning a lot, but I feel prepared for the opportunity. I’ll be focused on improving and achieving the best outcomes for the team”. Antonelli told reporters
Mercedes chose Antonelli despite the fact that his first F1 drive ended abruptly and spectacularly at Friday’s first practice session for the Italian Grand Prix, when he smashed Russell’s car into the trackside barriers at Monza after only four laps.
Mercedes gave him the opportunity to drive an F1 vehicle, but he lost control at the Parabolica turn 10 minutes into the session, severely damaging the front end after plowing through the gravel.
Mercedes described the occurrence as “unfortunate, but all part of the learning curve”.
“He apologised first and foremost, which is what you should do when you return a car that looks like a Lego box on the floor,” said team chief Toto Wolff on Friday.
Wolff was unconcerned with the collision, claiming that “no one’s interested in FP1 anyway” and that Antonelli will likely get another chance in a Mercedes F1 car at the Mexican GP at the end of October.
Antonelli had a fantastic youth career until a temporary hiatus at the start of this season. He won the 2022 Italian and German Formula 4 championships, as well as the 2023 Middle East and European regional Formula championships.
This season, he skipped Formula 3 and entered the Formula 2 championship. After a difficult start, he won his first race, a sprint at Silverstone in early July, before winning the main race in Budapest two weeks later. He is seventh in the championship with four rounds remaining.
