Compliments for Antonelli after F1 tests: 'Fast, consistent and faultless'

Will Andrea Kimi Antonelli get the chance from Mercedes to debut in Formula 1 as early as 2025, or will the young Italian (17) have to mature for another year in Formula 2. In that class, the talent is yet to make an indelible impression, but an intensive test programme could fully prepare him for the switch. In any case, James Allison, Mercedes' technical director, is hugely impressed with him.

According to Mercedes' technical director, Antonelli impressed in every session he drove an (old) F1 car. This is a handsome achievement, as he never drove an F1 car until this year. "It’s a cliché, but he’s fast, he’s consistent, didn’t make any mistakes. Young people can be trying to impress so much that they will spin off, or the opposite, they’re so terrified of spinning off that they don’t really show what they can do," Allison told Formula One's official website.

It all seems to come very naturally to Antonelli and partly because of this, Allison predicts a bright future for the Mercedes pupil. George Russell, who does not yet have a teammate for next season, can only agree with the technical director. Speaking at a press conference recently, the British driver said, "I think Kimi is a fantastic driver, obviously racing in Formula 2 this year, but he’s no doubt going to be a Formula 1 driver in the future."

Whether that will be as early as 2025 remains to be seen in the coming months. Mercedes were secretly hoping for Max Verstappen to come and replace Lewis Hamilton, but the Dutchman prefers to stay at Red Bull Racing. Kimi Antonelli is the leading candidate for the German team, but team principal Toto Wolff is unlikely to make a decision on the second driver alongside Russell any time soon.