Kimi Antonelli will be the youngest driver on the 2025 grid and the third youngest in F1 history when he makes his debut in Melbourne.
The 18-year-old has huge shoes to fill as he comes in as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes. But Antonelli says he is not thinking about Hamilton in his rookie season – rather seeing himself as the Silver Arrows’ next driver.
The Italian has had a hugely impressive junior career, winning multiple titles before jumping straight to F2 in 2024. He finished sixth in the standings last year before being afforded his chance in F1.
Joining Mercedes as a rookie will bring immense pressure for Antonelli, especially as the team will be looking to improve on their finish in 2024. Despite winning four races, the Brackley-based outfit fell away from the top three in the constructors’ championship.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
666 |
| 2 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
652 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
589 |
| 4 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
468 |
| 5 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
94 |
| 6 |
Alpine F1 Team |
65 |
| 7 |
Haas F1 Team |
58 |
| 8 |
Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team |
46 |
| 9 |
Williams F1 Team |
17 |
| 10 |
Sauber F1 Team |
4 |
Replacing F1’s most successful driver will also bring a wave of expectation. Mercedes fans feel ‘weird’ about the W16 already as Hamilton’s iconic number 44 is not on the car.
But Antonelli will hope his number 12 can bring success to Mercedes – and that is what his rivals are expecting him to do in 2025.
Christian Horner and Zak Brown are ‘fully expecting’ Kimi Antonelli to win in 2025
The 2024 season was one of the most exciting campaigns in the sport’s recent history with seven different winners from the top four teams – Sergio Perez being the only exception.
McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes are all expected to lead the field and challenge at the front. With Max Verstappen no longer boasting the strongest package, many fans, pundits and team bosses anticipate 2025 to be arguably the most competitive season in history.
READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats
Speaking on the RacingNews365 YouTube channel, journalist Ian Parkes says Red Bull and McLaren bosses Christian Horner and Zak Brown are expecting eight different winners this season. They see Antonelli grabbing a victory in his rookie season with Mercedes.
“I think the top four are all going to be looking at one another and we’re all going to be looking at the top four. When I say the top four, actually I’m talking about McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes.
“We know those four teams are going to be in the running. I mean the comments that came out of the F1 75 launch, Christian Horner, Zak Brown, both pretty much align.
“They are fully expecting this to be one of the most competitive, if not the most competitive season in Formula 1 history, simply because [of] how we ended last season going into this.
“We had four different teams winning, we had seven different drivers winning last year. And they’re fully expecting, both of those guys, to have eight different drivers.
“They consider the likes of Kimi winning, they can see Lewis winning at Ferrari for instance.”
Could the pressure get to Kimi Antonelli in his rookie season?
Antonelli is eager to replicate Hamilton’s development as a rookie driver. The Brit had arguably the greatest debut season in F1 history in 2007, losing the title to Kimi Raikkonen by a single point.
Challenging for the championship may be a step too far for the Italian in his rookie season this year. But Horner and Brown’s expectations of a victory in 2025 show how much hype Antonelli has – and it could prove too much to handle.
The 18-year-old crashed 10 minutes into his first FP1 appearance in Monza last year. Antonelli admits he cannot repeat those mistakes in 2025 – even though it will be natural for the rookie to make errors.
But if these mistakes are too common for Antonelli, it may be wise to take him out of the car to develop him further. Christian Danner says Mercedes have a ‘Plan B’ in Valtteri Bottas, who will serve as the team’s reserve driver this season.
Martin Brundle fears Mercedes are a ‘one-horse team’ with Antonelli on board. Teammate George Russell is a proven race winner – and the Italian’s mistakes could cost the team in the long run.
