Andrea Kimi Antonelli has a huge task ahead of him as he replaces the infamous Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2025 Formula 1 season.
The Italian driver has ascended through the junior categories rapidly and struck a deal with Toto Wolff this year to become the youngest Silver Arrows driver ever.
Mercedes may have a back-up for the shaky Antonelli, who has struggled to keep his car out of the barriers during tests.
Teammate George Russell is operating at a high level and represents one of the biggest tests that any new driver could face on the grid.
There are encouraging signs though, with Antonelli enjoying a pace advantage over Hamilton in Abu Dhabi after only one day of testing.
He now has three months to prepare himself before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but he has started life in Formula 1 on a strong note.
Kimi Antonelli’s attitude was ‘impeccable’ during first post-season Mercedes F1 test
Mercedes were forced to replace Antonelli in Abu Dhabi after the Italian fell ill with the flu. It also forced him to miss his final Formula 2 race with PREMA Racing.
Frederik Vesti took his spot during the morning, completing 55 laps before Antonelli managed to fight through his illness and muster 62 laps of his own.
Placing fifth among 23 drivers with such limited running was an impressive showing from the 18-year-old, who was just a tenth off Mercedes teammate Russell.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton told why he didn’t deserve Mercedes ‘pity party’ after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Speaking in a video for Motorsportcom Italia, Antonio Ghini shared the one thing that impressed him most about the way he conducted himself on a difficult weekend.
“I have always had an attitude of caution towards Antonelli,” he said. “Not knowing him and seeing how he behaved professionally in an impeccable way in his first day as a starter [in Abu Dhabi]. Despite the illness and the flu.”
What should be expected from Kimi Antonelli in 2025?
It feels like an age since Antonelli was first linked with a Formula 1 seat but his time to grace the tarmac is nearly upon us. It’s just under three months until he gets to conduct a full race weekend with the pressure of being someone who the team is relying on now.
He will be the third-youngest driver in the sport’s history at the time of running – both Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll are ahead of him in that statistic.
READ MORE: How Mercedes responded to rumours that Kimi Antonelli had ‘quite a lot of crashes’ in private tests
An emotional Hamilton left Antonelli a note after his final race for Mercedes, which included telling him to take care of the team.
It’s their job to try and catch up to the likes of Ferrari and McLaren at the front of the pack in the fight for the Constructors’ Championship, but they won’t want to invest too many resources.
With 2026 around the corner, and a new dawn for the sport with the introduction of fresh technical regulations, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if they give up on their 2025 season earlier than usual.
