Formula 1: The whole of Italy is hoping for this 17-year-old exceptional talent

The teenager is considered one of the biggest promises in the premier class of motorsport since Max Verstappen and is even being considered as Lewis Hamilton’s successor at Mercedes. Antonelli has a home game in Imola this weekend. The 17-year-old comes from the community of Casalecchio di Reno, just outside Bologna, about a 45-minute drive from the race track.

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Antonelli will not drive a Formula 1 car in front of the home fans; he will only compete in Formula 2 as part of the supporting program. But it’s not just the Tifosi who want him to become the first Italian Grand Prix winner since Giancarlo Fisichella in Malaysia in 2006 – if and when that might be. In any case, the expectations of Antonelli are huge. “He is really a huge talent, an exceptional talent,” said former world champion Nico Rosberg. For the German, Antonelli is “one of the best you’ve ever seen in go-karts.”

Possible successor to Hamilton?

Drivers mature in go-karts. Few make it to the top, most have no way to the top. Antonelli, whose father Marco owns his own team, basically raced through it and also skipped classes. In 2022 he won the German and Italian Formula 4 championships, and last year he secured the title in two Formula Regional championships.

This season Antonelli is racing in Formula 2 for Prema, where Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Mick Schumacher have already proven their talent. “It’s a big and difficult step. But I know that I can do it well,” he once told the “Gazzetta dello Sport”. “I’ll try to do what I’ve always done: work hard and study.” At the race in Melbourne at the end of March, Antonelli narrowly missed the podium in fourth place; it was his best placement to date in the highest junior class.

The talent promoted by Dino Chiesa, the Italian karting great, and Giancarlo Minardi, founder of the Formula 1 team of the same name, has been part of the Mercedes squad since 2019. And when the sensational move from Hamilton to Ferrari in 2025 was announced at the beginning of the year, Antonelli was quickly mentioned as a possible successor.

“He still has to learn”

“I’m very excited and happy to see him in a Formula 1 car, he’s been with us since he was eleven years old,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. “I have a picture of him as a little boy standing next to me in the go-kart and now seeing him develop into a Formula 1 driver is something I’m really proud of.”

Antonelli has already tested a Mercedes from 2021 and most recently tested a Mercedes from 2022 alongside Mick Schumacher. But Wolff “doesn’t want to burn out” the super talent, as he himself admitted. “I’ve already talked too much about Kimi because he’s only 17 and skipped Formula 3,” said the Viennese. “He still has to learn and develop away from the spotlight.”

Antonelli has intelligence at the wheel and speed. There was already speculation that he could replace Logan Sargeant at Williams, who was about to be fired, in Imola. He would have the necessary points for the so-called super license, the Formula 1 driving license. But Antonelli doesn’t turn 18 until August 25th. After Verstappen’s rocket start with just 17 years and 166 days in the premier class, the World Automobile Association has raised the minimum age of drivers to 18. A special application for Antonelli’s super license has already been submitted – reportedly by Williams.

“The poor guy is already under so much pressure”

“When you see a young driver, you have no idea whether he will be incredible, great, good or maybe just mediocre. But with him you could see from the early days of Formula 4 that he was developing incredibly well,” explained Williams -Team boss James Vowles, who used to work for Mercedes for many years.

Antonelli as Hamilton’s successor at Mercedes? Possible. However, the Williams variant, which is also a Mercedes engine customer and where it could be built, would be much more likely. This would make “the most sense” for Rosberg, even if he first has to prove himself in Formula 2. “You have to take it slowly with Kimi Antonelli. The poor guy is already under so much pressure,” said Rosberg.