Mercedes boss Toto Wolff wants 2025 Formula 1 signing Andrea Kimi Antonelli to emulate the F1 legacy of outgoing driver Lewis Hamilton.
Wolff has been moulding Antonelli into the next F1 superstar, who just turned 18, since the age of 12.
The Mercedes Junior driver will succeed Hamilton in 2025 and Wolff said it took him “five minutes” to pick the young Italian to succeed the #44 driver.
Hamilton joined F1 in 2007 at McLaren, immediately challenging for titles (and succeeding in 2008), which he won en-masse at Mercedes to take his tally to seven.
Wolff wants Antonelli to emulate Hamilton’s F1 career path.
“I think the project that inspired me more is the one that is more similar to Hamilton’s career,” Wolff told Autosprint.
“[Hamilton’s] growth in the junior categories and his impact in Formula 1 came at a time when you could test a lot more than Kimi has been able to do now.
“Ron at the time said Lewis needed to take it easy to get used to F1, also because [Fernando] Alonso was at McLaren.
“However, that never happened, Lewis was immediately competitive and a success.”
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Antonelli will be ready for F1
Through testing of previous car regulations, Antonelli has been able to test the 2021 and 2022 Mercedes F1 chargers.
Shortly after his 18th birthday, the Italian teenager took part in opening practice in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Despite a high-speed crash early on, Antonelli impressed and he will get another FP1 outing before the 2024 campaign comes to an end.
“With the current preparation, Kimi can jump into our car and be competitive,” Wolff said.
“However, F1 now is a different animal than it was at the time of Hamilton’s debut. There are a lot more dimensions and facets compared to the past.
“There is more pressure and social media, so I think it is important to keep everything moving in the right direction, keep the right priorities and avoid what is not essential.
“The goal is to create a new success story as happened with Hamilton.”
Antonelli a Hamilton/Verstappen level driver
Anotnelli’s rise through the junior ranks has seen him compared to Max Verstappen.
Wolff had the opportunity to sign Verstappen at Mercedes, but with drivers Nico Rosberg and Hamilton competing at the sharp end of the grid, the Dutchman was poached by the Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso outfit for the 2015 season.
Such was Wolff’s insistence to hold onto Antonelli, that Hamilton was handed a one-plus-one contract extension in 2023, paving the way for his Ferrari exit.
So while some like Eddie Jordan believe Antonelli should be plying his trade at Williams before a Mercedes drive, F1 pundit Will Buxton can see the need to promote the Italian early.
Speaking on The Fast and the Curious podcast, Buxton said: “the [rookie] that the expectation is highest on is Kimi.
“Toto really believes in him, thinks he’s a Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton type once-in-a-generation driver.
“The long and the short of it is they gave Lewis a one-plus-one contract because they wanted to bring Kimi in.
“You don’t give the greatest of all time an exit clause unless you think the kid you’re going to replace him with is very, very special.”
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