Mercedes have announced the promotion of F2 driver Kimi Antonelli to replace the Ferrari-bound seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in the 2025 Formula 1 season. The Italian driver will partner up with George Russell for his rookie season.
In the coming season, Antonelli will definitely be filling big shoes when he forms the team's academy lineup.
It is an amazing feeling to be announced as a Mercedes works driver alongside George for 2025. To reach F1 has been a dream I have had since I was a small boy, and I want to thank the team for the support they have given me in my career so far and for the faith shown in me. I am still learning a lot, but I feel ready for the opportunity. I'm also super excited to be George's teammate - he came through the junior programme like myself, and is someone for whom I have a huge amount of respect, said Kimi in a statement.
The meteoric rise up the lower ranks of motorsport saw Kimi join the team's junior programme as a 12-year-old back in 2019.
After great success in karting, including FIA Karting European Championship and WSK Euro series titles, he graduated to single-seaters – where he stormed to both the ADAC and Italian Formula 4 titles in 2022, before claiming the 2023 Formula Regional European Championship.
The Italian made the step up to FIA Formula 2 in 2024 and has coped well with the increase in pace. He has also claimed two wins so far this season, including a stirring Feature Race in Budapest.
It brings together experience, talent, youth and out-and-out raw speed, and we are excited about what George and Kimi bring to our team both as individual drivers, but also as a partnership. We think this new line-up is perfect to open the next chapter in our story. It's also a testament to the strength of our junior programme and our investment in home-grown talent, commented Team Principal Toto Wolff.
Russell, who currently lies eighth with 122 points in the Driver Standings, said: "I'm really excited to be partnering with Kimi for 2025. His record in junior formula has been formidable and his promotion is truly deserved. He's a fantastic young talent and a fellow graduate of our junior programme. I look forward to the opportunity to utilize the experience I have gained on my own journey so far to support Kimi as he takes the next step up into F1. I know what an inspiration Lewis has been for me throughout my years as a junior driver and during those when I was his teammate, so I feel I have learned so much from him and hope to play a similar role for Kimi."
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