Antonelli could be in the running for Mercedes: 'Would like to see what he can do'

Expectations surrounding Andrea Kimi Antonelli are sky-high. The 17-year-old Italian is skipping Formula 3 and gets to show it straight away in Mercedes' Formula 2. Toto Wolff even mentioned him as a possible successor to Lewis Hamilton for 2025, something the team boss said he later regretted. At the press conference in Japan, Wolff was asked about the plan for the super talent.

Antonelli will complete many tests

On 16 April, Antonelli will test with the 2021 W12 at Austria's Red Bull Ring, followed by several tests with Mercedes cars. Initially, Antonelli was not supposed to step into an F1 car for the first time until the second half of 2024. Has the programme been shaken up?

"The program of Kimi driving Formula One has been in place for a long time and hasn't changed massively over the last few weeks. What we have done is added more days, but what you will see in the next few months has been in place, whether or not he's going to sit in a Formula One car next year. So, yes, we're going to do a few of these days for him to get comfortable in an F1 car," Wolff said.

"He's driving the 2021 car in Austria for the first time. We want to give him a feeling of what a really good car feels like before we put him in the 22. Obviously, he's been our young boy since a long time with James and we're keen to see what he's able to do in the Formula One car. Oliver Bearman was refreshing to look at how competitive he was in Saudi Arabia, no free practice, high speed, complicated track, and he was right up there. So Kimi will be doing just fine."