Mercedes has insisted that its return to winning consistent races in Formula 1 won’t hamper Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s chances at landing the team’s vacant 2025 drive.
Antonelli has been regarded as the leading candidate to partner George Russell since the bombshell news arrived that Lewis Hamilton will switch to Ferrari next term.
However, Antonelli’s slow start to his maiden Formula 2 campaign and Mercedes’ on-track revival cast doubt on whether it should choose a more experienced option.
But while Mercedes retracted its earlier dismissal towards Carlos Sainz, Antonelli responded with a dominant outing in the wet in Silverstone to take his debut F2 win.
The Italian repeated that in the Feature race in Hungary next time out, leading Mercedes boss Toto Wolff to reveal in Belgium that he is the team’s number-one choice.
With Sainz having since agreed a move over to Williams in 2025, Antonelli appears all but guaranteed to make his F1 bow next season alongside Russell at Mercedes.
Mercedes has explained that the turnaround that has seen it attain three victories in the last five races will not have an overriding impact on its driver line-up decision.
“To be honest, where we’re racing doesn’t really affect [driver decisions],” Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin told media including Motorsport Week.
“We want the two best drivers, and we need to make the best car, and the team are going to focus on that. 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.”
Antonelli’s star-studded resume and his rapid progression up through the single-seater ladder have witnessed him being hailed as a potential F1 champion in waiting.
When asked what prompted the eight-time F1 Constructors’ champions to begin courting Antonelli, Shovlin answered: “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.”
Antonelli has been dovetailing his F2 campaign with Prema with a relentless F1 testing programme using previous Mercedes cars at various tracks around the world.
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