Toto Wolff confirms Kimi Antonelli will drive the Mercedes F1 car

Andrea Kimi Antonelli is celebrating his 18th birthday, but next weekend, he will have to get down to business as Toto Wolff has delivered some good news for the super-talent. Antonelli will compete in FP1 for Mercedes at the Italian Grand Prix weekend. This will form part of Mercedes' mandatory young driver practice appearances for the 2024 Formula 1 season.

Wolff has good news for Antonelli ahead of Formula 1's return to his home country. "We're going to do FP1 with Kimi in Monza," Wolff told GPblog and others in Zandvoort.

"That will be a really emotional moment because we've followed him since he was 11. He was a baby go-kart driver, proud to be in the garage, to then seeing him drive out on Friday in FP1 in Monza in front of the Tifosi. Having an Italian kid in a competitive car, I think that will be something that everybody in Italy can be very proud of," Wolff added before hinting at some next steps. "Then we take it from there."

Kimi Antonelli already has the necessary points for a Superlicence. It seems like it will probably be a while before his official debut happens - unless a spot opens up at Williams, perhaps?

Mercedes is preparing the current Formula 2 driver for his entry into the premier class of motorsport in the coming months. The team is doing so through private testing in older F1 cars.