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Kimi Antonelli (Source: X)
Italian racer Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been named Lewis Hamilton's replacement by Mercedes for 2025. The rising star will race along with George Russell for the 2025 season.
Antonelli is set to replace veteran racer and seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who will be joining Ferrari next season. Team Principal Toto Wolf had been mulling over the decision to sign Antonelli since the news of Hamilton leaving the team broke earlier this year.
"Our 2025 F1 driver line-up confirmed. Kimi Antonelli will race alongside George Russell next season," Mercedes said in their announcement.
According to reports, the Mercedes team had been after Red Bull racer Max Verstappen for several months, but that ambition never saw the end of the tunnel.
On the other hand, they have been grooming Antonelli for months now. The 18-year-old was fast-tracked to Formula 2 after his impressive performances in regional championships.
Meanwhile, Antonelli made his FP1 debut at the Italian Grand Prix on Friday but had a horrible start. He stopped the session after 10 minutes at Monza when the rear of the Mercedes snapped out of line at high-speed Parabolica and the car spun off into the barriers.
Kimi has consistently shown the talent and speed: Toto Wolf
Speaking about the 2025 driver lineup, Toto Wolf said, "Our 2025 driver line-up combines experience, talent, youth and out-and-out raw speed. We are excited about what George and Kimi bring to the team both as individual drivers, but also as a partnership."
He added, "Our new line-up is perfect to open the next chapter in our story. It is also a testament to the strength of our junior programme and our belief in home-grown talent. George has proved that he is one of the very best drivers in the world. He is not only fast, consistent, and determined, but has also developed into a strong leader within the team.
"Kimi has consistently shown the talent and speed needed to compete at the very top of our sport. We know it will be another big step up, but he has impressed us in his F1 testing this year and we will be supporting him every step of the way in the learning process."