Lewis Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes CONFIRMED as teen star replaces legend despite suffering huge crash in audition
LEWIS HAMILTON’S Mercedes replacement has been announced.
Kimi Antonelli, who drove a Formula One car competitively for the first time in FP1 of the Italian Grand Prix, will take the seven-time world champion’s seat in 2025.
GettyLewis Hamilton’s Mercedes replacement has been revealed[/caption]
RexKimi Antonelli will take the Silver Arrows’ hot seat next season[/caption]
Hamilton announced he was leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari in 2025 at the start of the season.
It led to rampant speculation about who might replace the 39-year-old F1 great, which included ambitious plans to poach world champion Max Verstappen from Red Bull.
However, Mercedes junior and F2 driver Antonelli had been among the names in the discussion from the very start.
And the 18-year-old has now been named as the driver to partner George Russell from next season.
A Mercedes statement said: “Introducing to the stage… Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
“Today, the team is announcing its 2025 driver line-up, with 18-year-old Italian Kimi joining multiple Grand Prix-winner George behind the wheel for next season.
“Kimi will make the step up from F2 and graduate from the team’s junior programme, just like a certain George Russell, who made the jump up to F1 in 2019 after a superb two-year junior spell with us.”
Antonelli suffered a heavy crash when taking the seat of George Russell’s car around the Monza circuit.
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The Italian driver had looked extremely quick on his lap, but was caught out at the famous Curva Parabolica corner, where the safety car had also crashed a day earlier.
He has won one feature race and one sprint race in F2 this season and stands 7th overall in the driver’s championship standings.
On the news, Antonelli said: “It is an amazing feeling to be announced as a Mercedes works driver alongside George for 2025.
“Reaching F1 is a dream I’ve had since I was a small boy; I want to thank the team for the support they’ve given me in my career so far and the faith they’ve shown in me.
“I am still learning a lot, but I feel ready for the opportunity. I will be focused on getting better and delivering the best possible results for the team.”
Toto Wolff said of the decision: “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.
“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.
“In George, he has an experienced team-mate from which he can learn and hone his craft. I am confident that both will contribute greatly as we continue to build momentum and fight at the front of the field.”
The move now means there are just two open grid slots for 2025, with Australian Jack Doohan recently being announced for Alpine.
More to follow.
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