Andrea Kimi Antonelli has a bright future in the F1 world. Lately, Mercedes confirmed that he will replace Lewis Hamilton next season. For a long time, speculation existed about the Italian prodigy replacing the seven-time champion. Since Max Verstappen’s F1 debut at 17, there has not been another young driver who could break his record. The Dutch driver is still the youngest driver to make his Formula 1 debut. But the Italian prodigy made his F1 debut for Mercedes during the FP1 of the 2024 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. He is 18 years old. Moreover, the Silver Arrows show great faith in the young driver and his abilities.
He will have to fill big shoes next season, as replacing the great Briton won’t be easy. Lewis Hamilton will leave the German team after 11 years of epic collaboration. The Silver Arrows dominated the Turbo-hybrid era in all those eight seasons. Moreover, Hamilton had won six Driver’s World Championships with Mercedes, adding to his first one with McLaren back in 2008. But the 39-year-old superstar was looking to fullfil his dream of racing for Ferrari. Hence, he announced his departure early this season. Now, it is on Toto Wolff and the German outfit to show complete trust in the young Italian prodigy.
Wolff Plans To Put Andrea Kimi Antonelli Back In The Car Soon
On Friday, the Italian prodigy Kimi Antonelli made his F1 debut during the practice session at Monza. But it did not last long as the young racer crashed during the second lap. For a long time, he has been a promising candidate for Mercedes to replace the seven-time champion. Now, that he has replaced the great Briton, the onus is on Toto Wolff to show some faith in the prodigy. That’s exactly what the Austrian billionaire executive is doing right now. Moreover, the Mercedes boss is planning to put Antonelli back in the W15 car after his FP1 experience ended prematurely. On his opening lap, the Italian driver had put in a decent lap time and he was the first one to do so.
But the second lap was where things fell apart drastically. Andrea Kimi Antonelli crashed out at turn 11, Parabolica corner. While turning in, he lost the rear in the second lap. Reportedly, Antonelli was okay after the crash, he was unharmed. Later, in an interview with FormulaPassion, Toto Wolff mentioned that this crash won’t impact who will be George Russell’s teammate next year. Moreover, the boss hinted at the team’s faith in Antonelli’s abilities. On top of that, Wolff believes, “Bad FP1 is not how you judge a racer negatively.”
Mercedes Boss Reflects On The Tough Weekend For The Young Italian Prodigy
Toto Wolff gave a hint that Antonelli will return in F1 in the next Grand Prix at Mexico. Albeit, he said that they have not decided on the young racer’s next commitment with them, he thinks it will be in Mexico. Due to this accident, Wolff plans not to bring forward his second FP1. Anyway, the Mercedes boss feels he is a strong driver who will need to recover from these issues and learn to deal with the pressure. Before the FP1 session, Wolff reminded Kimi that this is the best job in the world. Most importantly, he needed to have fun and take the pressure off. Toto Wolff said that he repeated the same thing after his FP1 session.
Moreover, the boss believes it has not been an easy weekend for the kid. First of all, Antonelli will still need to compete in F2 and as an Italian guy it was his first time in a Mercedes. Hence, Wolff believes, “It must have been a heavy burden.” However, the boss believes if Kimi wants to be a champion one day, he will have to deal with all these things. Moreover, Toto Wolff said that he has no doubt that the young Italian racer can do it, and will do it.
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