Andrea Kimi Antonelli will become the third-youngest driver yet to start a Formula 1 Grand Prix when he debuts for Mercedes in Australia after replacing Lewis Hamilton.
The Silver Arrows believe they have a true sensation on their hands after nurturing Antonelli on his rise toward Formula 1. Mercedes first signed the 18-year-old for their driver academy back in 2019 while dominating the go-karting scene and have seen his stock continually rise.
Now, Antonelli has the unenvious duty of taking over from a seven-time champion after Toto Wolff decided that Mercedes were to promote from within to replace Hamilton following his defection to Ferrari. The Bologna boy even steps up to F1 after just one season in Formula 2.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli has ‘near-legendary status’ at Mercedes for driving a car to its limit
Antonelli will earn his F1 debut with Mercedes in the 2025 Australian GP on March 16 to cap a meteoric rise toward the pinnacle of motorsport. The teenager did the Italian and ADAC F4 double in 2022 and then won the European and Middle East Formula Regional titles in 2023.
Impressive wins in his rookie F2 term in a wet Silverstone Sprint and from P7 on the Hungary Feature Race grid also backed up Mercedes’ decision to replace Hamilton with Antonelli. Yet it was the Italian’s pace in private tests to prepare Antonelli for F1 that impressed Mercedes.
READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats
| POS | DRIVER | AGE AT DEBUT | TEAM | RACE |
| 10 | Esteban Tuero | 19 years, 10 months, 14 days | Minardi | 1998 Australian Grand Prix |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | 19 years, 7 months, 3 days | Minardi | 2001 Australian Grand Prix |
| 8 | Ricardo Rodriguez | 19 years, 6 months, 27 days | Ferrari | 1961 Italian Grand Prix |
| 7 | Mike Thackwell | 19 years, 5 months, 29 days | Tyrrell | 1980 Canadian Grand Prix |
| 6 | Lando Norris | 19 years, 4 months, 4 days | McLaren | 2019 Australian Grand Prix |
| 5 | Jaime Alguersuari | 19 years, 4 months, 3 days | Toro Rosso | 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix |
| 4 | Oliver Bearman | 18 years, 10 months, 1 day | Ferrari | 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix |
| 3 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli* | 18 years, six months, 19 days old | Mercedes | 2025 Australian Grand Prix |
| 2 | Lance Stroll | 18 years, 4 months, 25 days | Williams | 2017 Australian Grand Prix |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | 17 years, 5 months, 13 days | Toro Rosso | 2015 Australian Grand Prix |
According to ESPN, Antonelli drove more than 5,500 miles in Mercedes’ older F1 cars to get him ready for Formula 1. Those Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) runs also earned the Bologna boy ‘near-legendary status’ at Mercedes through Antonelli’s ability to drive a car to its limit.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli has shades of Max Verstappen in his total commitment
Antonelli demonstrated his immense raw speed and total commitment whenever he lapped in one of Mercedes’ F1 cars. It did not always go well with a few crashes and offs littering his record, though, and Alex Jacques fears Antonelli could ‘hurt’ Mercedes if he keeps crashing.
He even crashed when the teenager made his F1 weekend debut on home soil in FP1 for the 2024 Italian Grand Prix. But Nyck de Vries claims Antonelli has shades of Max Verstappen in his total commitment which surprised Mercedes and helped to secure him a Formula 1 seat.
Additionally, Mercedes are desperate for Antonelli to be something special having taken him from karting to Formula 1 and seen his commitment first-hand on the circuit and in debriefs. Yet Wolff does not expect Antonelli to win in Australia and wants to see him develop all year.
