Mercedes junior driver Antonelli is considering replacing Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in a Silver Arrow in 2025, with the team using older machinery to fully assess his capabilities before making a decision.
The first of these tests took place over two days at the Red Bull Ring, where the Italian drove the W12, the car that almost took Hamilton to a record eighth world title in 2021.
After covering 500 kilometers over two days, Antonelli said: “It was an incredible experience, it was really great to feel the power and the downforce.
“I loved every second of it. It was really a lot of fun and I want to thank the whole team for all their hard work.
He added: “We did some simulation work and went through some important things before the day.
“It was really useful because once on track I knew what the team was saying to me on the radio.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli drives a Mercedes W12
Antonelli is currently competing in his first season of Formula 2, having been propelled into the category thanks to his European Formula Regional title.
The 17-year-old sits ninth in the drivers’ standings after six races, where his early consistency has seen him score points on four occasions. Most recently, he finished fourth, his best finish of the season, in the main race of the Australian Grand Prix weekend.
“I learned a lot during these two days, things that will be very useful to me when I return to F2,” he said.
“But I have to keep working and keep improving too.”
While Antonelli performs favorably compared to his Prema teammate Oliver Bearman, a driver who impressed on his F1 debut for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said that ” Kimi would do very well” if he took the plunge. up.
And conceding that Mercedes is in a rebuilding phase where there is no challenge for world titles, the Austrian said: “You have to recognize that now, three years after the start of these regulations, we have to make the things differently than we have done in the past without throwing away what we believe to be goodness in the way we operate.
“That could mean putting a young driver in there and giving him an opportunity with less pressure than immediately fighting for wins, or putting a more experienced driver in the car who can help us break out of the current performance table. “
Antonelli will return to F2 at Imola between May 17 and 20.
