Lewis Hamilton backs Andrea Kimi Antonelli to replace him at Mercedes for the 2025 F1 season | F1 news

Lewis Hamilton has named Andrea Kimi Antonelli as the motive force he would select to interchange him at Mercedes later this 12 months.

Mercedes has but to determine who will take Hamilton’s place when the seven-time world champion joins Ferrari in 2025, however 17-year-old System 2 driver Antonelli is likely one of the main candidates. Sky Sports activities Information understands. Max Verstappen stays a goal for Mercedes, however his contract with Crimson Bull runs till the tip of 2028.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz is believed to not be an possibility for Mercedes, leaving Antonelli and Verstappen as the 2 foremost candidates.

Antonelli has been praised after profitable a number of junior single-seater titles in 2021 for the primary time since switching from karting to racing vehicles.

At Imola, Hamilton was requested if Sainz would swimsuit Mercedes, however he stated he most well-liked Antonelli.

“Carlos is a good driver, so I feel wherever he goes, I feel he’ll be a optimistic for any workforce,” Hamilton stated.

“Actually, I don’t know what Toto’s plans are, however for me, taking over a teenager, if it was my function, I would in all probability tackle Kimi.”

Wolff: Perhaps we will shine extra with the Italian

Mercedes denied studies that they’d requested the FIA ​​to launch Antonelli from the tremendous license to compete in System 1.

After Max Verstappen joined the game on the age of 17, the game’s governing physique launched a minimal age restrict of 18 years.

Antonelli is 17 years outdated, however will flip 18 on August 25 this 12 months, the identical day because the Dutch Grand Prix. Due to his junior success, he already has sufficient Tremendous License factors to compete in System 1, with solely age standing in his method.

Wolf talked to Sky Sports activities F1 on his emotions about Hamilton’s race in Italy on the weekend, for the primary time since his shock change to Ferrari was introduced, and recalled Antonelli.

“I feel it’s extremely attention-grabbing for the Italians to have Lewis Hamilton in crimson subsequent 12 months. We get used to the outfits, however we now have to take a look at ourselves,” he stated.

“Perhaps there’s an possibility that we shine extra with the Italian in our automobile, so we’re pushing laborious.”

Antonelli has a “metrical” tempo

Mercedes examined Antonelli on its 2021 and 2022 F1 vehicles in April, however tried to minimize its expectations of the Italian.

Technical director James Allison praised Antonelli, who has matched and at occasions surpassed his System 2 team-mate Oliver Biermann this season.

“I’ve had lots of enjoyable listening to engineers describe their interactions with it,” Ellison stated.

“Only a younger, enthusiastic rider, very, very quick, metronomic in his tempo. He hadn’t sat in a System 1 automobile till lately, however for a lap or two it felt like he’d been in a single for years.

“He approached this era of vehicles, ground-effect vehicles, with an open thoughts. It feels all the identical as you’ll anticipate it to. However he’s not in any respect contaminated by the earlier vehicles, so he simply takes them as they’re and tells us what he feels are the weak and robust factors.

“He is letting the engineers work to attempt to enhance these issues. However he appears to be like like a really promising younger driver.”

Wolff tried to not put any stress on Antonelli, however beforehand prompt Mercedes could possibly be “courageous” with who they select to interchange the outgoing Hamilton.

At Imola, the Mercedes workforce boss stated: “We’ve been enthusiastic about this younger man for a very long time and in the future he shall be an excellent and nice driver in System 1, however he’s 17. Fourteen months in the past he was driving an F4 automobile and there are such a lot of expectations in Italy .

“We’re additionally a bit responsible of speaking about him at that stage and I feel we now have to let him do his F2 factor, get outcomes and never get too enthusiastic about what could possibly be or must be.

“Take a look at George [Russell], he gained F3 and F2 in his first 12 months. On the identical time, Kimi has carried out in these junior collection and is now in System 2, so we are going to see. Someday he shall be in System 1, however let’s not rush.”

What else did we study in regards to the driver market in Imola?

Forward of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Alex Albon signed a brand new contract to remain at Williams till at the least 2026, ending hypothesis he may be a part of one other workforce.

Crimson Bull’s Sergio Perez had a troublesome weekend as he crashed out in Q2 and completed solely eighth within the race, whereas team-mate Verstappen turned pole place into victory and appears no nearer to confirming his future , as his present deal expires on the finish of this 12 months.

This got here as RB’s Yuki Tsunoda put in a superb efficiency to qualify seventh and take the factors for the second race in a row.

Sainz may wait to see if Crimson Bull decides to maintain Perez whereas Sauber and Audi proceed their pursuit of the Spaniard.

Requested if an announcement was far off, Sainz stated: “I feel so, sure. It is not shifting too quick.”

Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas has been seen in dialog with Williams boss James Vowles and the Finnish driver has been linked with a return to his outdated workforce.

Bottas, whose contract with Sauber additionally expires on the finish of this 12 months, has not revealed something about his dialog with Vowles.

“[It was] regular issues, about life! In fact, if you’re within the open market, you need to verify what’s on the market,” he stated.

“It is a fairly regular scenario if you’re in a free market.”

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