Mercedes: Antonelli has got very impressive CV for someone so young

It is difficult to see what Mercedes see in Antonelli, as his results in the 2024 F2 Championship are hardly a reason enough to make them promote him into Formula 1 to replace Hamilton in 2025.

The Italian is currently seventh in the 2024 F2 Drivers' Standings, with only two wins to his name, the Sprint Race at Silverstone and the Feature race in Hungary, with four more rounds to go.

Nevertheless, the eight-time F1 Constructors' Champions insist Antonelli is the next big talent to come through their junior ranks.

Asked what makes Antonelli so special, Mercedes' Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin said, quote by F1's Official Website: "His speed is the main thing. He’s gone through the series very, very quickly. It wasn’t long ago that he was driving go-karts, he’s now in F2, he’s testing an F1 car with us.

"He’s got a very impressive CV for someone so young, and no doubt he’ll have a bright future. But he looks like one of those naturally gifted talents that everyone’s trying to find," he added.

With Mercedes previously struggling, it made sense to put Antonelli in Hamilton's place, as the stake won't be high and he would get time to adapt, but Shovlin insists that is irrelevant now that the team seems to have recovered and back into the winners' circle.

He said: "To be honest, where we’re racing doesn’t really affect that [decision to sign Antonelli], we want the two best drivers and we need to make the best car, and the team are going to focus on that.

"I think, if you get those ingredients right, you’ll do fine. But certainly where we are in the competitive order doesn’t affect whether we’re looking for an experienced driver or a young driver," Shovlin concluded.

According to Mercedes' official website: "More commonly known by his middle name, Kimi, he was born in Bologna, Italy, in 2006 and joined the Junior Programme in April 2019, off the back of various titles and wins in the junior karting categories.

"He went on to win the WSK Euro Series and Super Master Series titles in the OK Junior category that season, as well as finishing runner-up in the FIA Karting European Championship and finishing fifth at the FIA Karting World Championship. In 2020, he stepped up to the OK class, claiming the FIA Karting European Championship and WSK Euro Series.

"In 2021, he competed in various international karting series in the OK class, winning the FIA European Championship once again, before moving up to single-seater racing at the end of the season in Italian Formula 4 for the final three rounds with Prema, showing impressive pace and scoring podium finishes.

"He moved up to F4 full-time in 2022 and stormed to the ADAC and Italian titles in impressive fashion with Prema Racing. For 2023, he made the jump to Formula Regional, taking the title in the Middle Eastern version of the series. He then went onto claim the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine title too – scoring five wins."