What should we expect from Kimi Antonelli?

18 years old, just two weeks ago, born in Bologna, with a face resembling a character from an Italian teen-comedy; already a multiple champion in ADAC Formula 4 and Italian Formula 4, winner of the FIA Motorsport Games in 2022, and in 2023, he claimed both the Formula Regional Middle East and the Formula Regional European championships. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, shortly after making his Formula One debut during the free practice sessions at the Monza Grand Prix, was officially announced as the new Mercedes driver alongside 1998-born George Russell, confirming the rumors that Toto Wolff had fueled in recent months. The Austrian sporting director strongly believed in Antonelli and stated that he would be introduced to Formula One by following the same path as the Hamilton project: «We will continue down this road because, if you look at the program that Lewis gave us at the time, it involved a lot of testing to prepare not just for driving, but also for race week and preparation. That’s what we did at the last race as well. So, this program will continue.»

From the Mercedes Junior Team to Formula One

Returning to the life of Mercedes' young prodigy: he is the son of Marco Antonelli, who is also a racing driver and the owner of the AKM Motorsport team, which competes in various GT championships and the Italian Formula 4. Just to give an idea of how serious motorsport is in the Antonelli household, the name of Mercedes' new driver is a tribute to Kimi Räikkönen, the last Ferrari World Champion. There is no doubt that Antonelli will have to prove he can carry the weight of Lewis Hamilton's legacy in all aspects, but it is equally certain that he can rely on the tradition of the Emilia Romagna Motor Valley and the trust that prominent Mercedes figures have in him. Nevertheless, matching or even surpassing the achievements of the newly signed Ferrari driver, both on and off the track, will be a very complex challenge, but that’s a fact. The pressure on Antonelli is enormous — it couldn’t be otherwise — but according to the German car manufacturer, he has all the tools to be a natural talent. This belief stems from the education the driver received, as in 2019, he was enrolled in the Mercedes Junior Team program, an initiative of the Mercedes AMG F1 Team to help young drivers progress to Formula One. Just to name a few, Pascal Wehrlein, who became the 2023/24 Formula E champion, along with Russell and Antonelli himself, emerged from the same "school".

Hamilton in his sights

The legacy left by Hamilton weighs heavily on Antonelli, as it couldn’t be otherwise. Both because of the Englishman’s rich track record (7 world championships won and 105 GPs finished in first place with McLaren and Mercedes teams) and because of a personality that still makes him the quintessential Formula One superstar today. Over the past year, Lewis Hamilton's figure has been an even more crucial asset for Mercedes. This is because Formula One Group, under Liberty Media's control, has significantly boosted its appeal, becoming much more Gen Z-oriented thanks to a fundamental Americanization, which, among other initiatives, reintroduced the GP raced on the Las Vegas Strip. Faced with this process that has made Formula One more glamorous, Mercedes responded last season with Hamilton's unmistakable style, contrasting A$AP Rocky's partnership with PUMA. Expecting Antonelli to one day achieve even a third of what Hamilton has done is certainly ambitious. Or perhaps Mercedes is less concerned with creating a Hamilton clone, aware that the risk of producing an inauthentic copy is too high. Antonelli's only performances that will be evaluated will be those on the track, after all, the ones that matter most.